FORGOTTEN WORLD ADVENTURE

Hope you feel included!

What a great idea of Colin and BevsTo organise for us to travel on the forgotten highwaySo 20 members of the Probus WhitbyTravelled to Stratford including ValerieWe all met at the Amity Court MotelAnd then to Colonel Malones for a delicious dinnerThe meals were enormous so we would not get thinnerThe first morning of our journey was very wetWe were a little disappointed, even Margaret.We were a little astonished when we saw the ‘secure parking’“Not quite what we expected “said Ian and Ivan.Transported to Douglas we chose our cartsTwo, four or six seater was the choiceAfter a lengthy ‘short briefing’ we were on our wayAt last said Bill, Peter and RaeIt was a pity that the plastic screens spoilt our view But we got a dripping panorama of fields we passed through.On our journey our culinary requirements were met And all activities were well documented by photographer Annette.Thursday afternoon we arrived at our destination Whangamomona“Hey where is the phone reception?” exclaimed ShonaThe hotel treated guests to scones with cream and jam“I could get used to this luxury” murmured Allan and GrahamOn Friday the 2nd the sun came out to shineA little wander up the road and onto the carts againOur very learned and amusing guide for this leg was Rob“We got an amazing lot of history and information from him” remarked BobRemarkable was the digging out of the tunnels with pick and shovel“Extraordinary conditions, hard to imagine” said JillBarbara said how much she enjoyed the passing countryside

“Us too” Doris , Roy and June repliedAll too soon we were at OhahukuraOur ultimate journey was fast coming to an endSix stayed in Taumaranui and enjoyed the RSA clubThe other fourteen were on their 3 hour journey back to Colonel Malones.All travellers were happy to have experienced a journey That provided fun, fellowship and the opportunity of making new friends.

Jill Merrick

Taranaki is known for its dairy farms and we set off in the rain on our golf carts through the countryside to appreciate the odour of the settling ponds from the cow yards. Put

your foot down Bill and get us out of here. Raining but the drop down perspex side on the carts prevented us getting wet and there was shelter at each stop for coffee or lunch. Overnight at the Whangamomona Hotel was great and next day dawned fine for our next adventure. Taking turns the next day with Valerie driving the 2 seater cart we had was fun. Scenery was lovely and we looked on in awe at the engineering feats achieved in the early days. 24 tunnels so we all saw the light at the end of the tunnel. A really fun

experience and would recommend others do it. Company was great and big thanks to Colin for organising.

June Campbell-Tong

Twenty intrepid Probus folksgot into wet weather gearClimbed into railcartsand set off to explore the areaThank goodness the side curtains were rolled downwhich kept us more or less dryand by peering through the rain on the front windows

we enjoyed!?! seeing the farms roll by

Morning tea stop saw us huddled in a small shedbut the food and drink were greatBack into our carts again heading inland and watching for the guide's hand signals of what to do next.The rain kept up with us all daybut no moans or groans were heardLunch break was "make your own sammies"and thoroughly enjoyed by us all

Must mention the long drops, painted with floral designsclean and better than expectedAnd so to our overnight stop at Whangamomonafinding bedrooms, shedding wet clothes and relaxingDinner kept us all quiet while eating,and breakfast filled us ready for the next daywhich woke us to weak sunshine and continued to improve as we headed offwith wet weather gear stowed away

Tunnels - 24 of them in total, blink and you missed one or twoand ending with the longest one of 1.6kmsBoth days we had guides but Dave had the toughest daynot really able to get out of the carts for the history talksSecond day Robin with his wide knowledge gave us insightinto the background of the countryside we were passing through

Alas we reached Tauramunui our final stop of the tripsorted the luggage and back on a busto head by road to Stratford, all done without fussSo ended our first Probus overnight tripwhich will be a hard act to follow

Anonymous

The Rail Cart Journey from Stratford to Taumaranui Weather Report (with apologies to Mr Limerick, especially for my inability to find a rhyme for Whangamomona!)

Day one we set off for the ‘NakiWith Valerie and June in the backi.Through Bulls, OtamateaWaverley and PateaOf sunshine there wasn’t a lacki.

Day two we awoke to the rain ah!Which proved a bit of a pain ah!With some wet stops and startsWe rode our golf cartsOn the rails to the pub at ‘momona.

Day three there was glorious sunshineEndless vistas reaching the skyline

With Rob as our guideO’er the rails we did glideAll the way to the end of the line.

Day four it was back home to WellyGreat weather, no need of a ‘brelly We’d had a great timeScenery was sublimeWere we bored? No, not on your nelly!!

Rae Denize

Graham Craig has compiled some interesting statistics relating to our rail journey. Click on each .pdf to view them. I have copied them too (see below) but the resolution is much better on Graham’s versions