Following a recent visit to friends in Wellington I travelled back to Auckland via scenic train, the Northern Explorer, one of New Zealand’s Great Train Journeys.
Explore the rural heart of New Zealand’s North Island on this epic 681km journey between Auckland and Wellington by train.
Our Northern Explorer train connects multi-cultural Auckland with our bustling capital, Wellington. With unique blends of international prestige and local culture, both are excellent places to start or finish your adventure.
See the scenic wonders of Middle Earth, soar over towering viaducts, across the high plains of the volcanic plateau, and beneath three mighty volcanoes.
Northern Explorer Route
Travelling by train is a very gentle way of travelling – perfect for having a mini-adventure even if you don’t have lots of energy. You can just sit and watch the scenery go by, stroll up to the restaurant car for a meal or snack if you want, snooze, listen to music or the travel commentary (on board WiFi), or talk to your fellow passengers.
This journey (from Wellington to Auckland) departs from Wellington Central Station at 7.55am and gets into Auckland at 7.00pm (all going well). Check-in is on the platform, you drop your bag at the luggage car, and then find your seat in the nicely refurbished carriages.
The view on our journey didn’t start out very well because it was very wet and stormy in Wellington and continued that way as we travelled up the coast past Paraparaumu. As we neared Palmerston North, the skies cleared (although there was lots of water lying around on the ground) and we started to get lovely view of the rural countryside.
The Rangatikei River and its amazing mudstone cliffs were spectacular with great photo opportunities from various viaducts along the way. There were very moody views across the central plateau, with the clouds lifting somewhat as we reached National Park to give us peeks at Mt Ruapehu, along with Mt Tarawera and Mt Tongariro.
Then we descended from the plateau down the Raurimu Spiral – a feat of engineering that allows the train to navigate a much steeper drop that would be possible with a normal railway track. From there we crossed the lush Waikato countryside, watching the sunset as we travelled the last stretch into the Strand Station in Auckland central.
The restaurant car provides a great range of meals, snack and drinks for breakfast, lunch and dinner on the train. The cost can mount up though so it is good to bring a few things with you for the journey.
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