Driving into New Zealand’s Forgotten World

“I had just a single night at Omaka Lodge before being taken 19km north to Okahukura and the start of the old Stratford-Okahukura railway, long since abandoned by regular train services and now known as the Forgotten World Line. It’s not quite true to say I had a no-drive experience in New Zealand – from here to Whangamōmona, 82km to the south-west, I would be driving my own ‘rail cart’,” Jamie Lafferty writes in a travel piece for the Financial Times.

“Imported from Texas, these were crudely converted golf buggies, still with a useless steering wheel, complete with a clip for scorecard,” Lafferty explains.

“Unlike conventional rail travel, where there is no control over the scheduling, nor destinations, this trip would allow me to stop when I chose, so long as I wasn’t being halted by other forces.”

Original article by Jamie Lafferty, Financial Times, April 11, 2023.

Photo by Jamie Lafferty.


Tags: Financial Times  Forgotten World Line  Omaka Lodge  Whangamōmona  

Christchurch Combines Architectural Charm with Art

Christchurch Combines Architectural Charm with Art

“Framed by the Pacific to the east and the snowy Southern Alps to the west, Ōtautahi Christchurch is the largest city on New Zealand’s South Island and nicknamed the Garden City…