090 – Northern Explorer Train Auckland – Wellington

I thought all was well until I received an email stating all the regular tickets were sold out, and if I wanted to be on this train, I would need to upgrade to first class or find a different way to get to Wellington.
I am not a great planner. I did not come into this trip with every hotel and plane ticket booked, so I expected to have some bumps in the road along the way.

No, I really didn’t. I expected everything to go as planned even though I did not have a plan. I suppose that has more to do with attitude than reality, yet here I sit.

Long story short, you probably figured out by now that I bumped myself up to first class rather than deal with finding an alternative.
To date, I have never regretted bumping up to first class, except for the hole in my bank account I acquire to get there.
I am justifying at least some of the expense of the upgrade by telling myself I do not need to pay for food today since it is included. I also don’t need to pay the extra baggage fee for all my luggage since that is included. Does not quite cover everything, but my head is a mysterious place and accepts my lies.

Another perk of first is I am not crammed in to the sardine car. I have power ports to work if I choose, I have served table service and, this car is not full so I can spread out, which makes the 10 hour ride a hella lot nicer.
I walked through the car of regular seats and sardine is a generous visual picture. It would have worked and been fine, but it’s good to be the queen.

I mentioned food is included, and food consists of 8 food services. (Danish, Cold Breakfast, Warm Breakfast, Lunch, Sweet Treat, Afternoon platter, Dinner and finally… desert.) Wine and beer are flowing freely and if I want more of anything, just ask. I plan on taking anything I can fit in my bag along with me and having food for tomorrow. Maybe the next day.

I met the most wonderful women on the train. Both solo women travelers. Linda is from Nova Scotia and takes a trip each year now to cross things off her bucket list. This year was Australia and New Zealand, and is now on her way to Wellington to see her nephew before going back home. She loves books, and buys at least one cookbook from everywhere she visits. By the end of her trips, her luggage is very heavy, but that is what she enjoys.
Diane has come to New Zealand from the north tip of England to surprise her long time pen pal for her 60^th birthday. She will be traveling with the family for a week or so, then back to England. She will be coming back here in August, so is lining up things for that trip while she is here.
We talked for a while about a lot of things, and it was nice to have another perspective about traveling alone in today’s world. Linda traveled frequently alone since her husband died and never regretted a minute of it. Diane was having her first big solo trip overseas, and she and I shared a lot in our concerns, apprehensions and the reality of our shared situation.
Then Linda calmed us down and we realized she was right. It helped we are all traveling in a ‘western’ culture, with English as the first language, and perhaps what western culture people consider a ‘safer’ environment than what I had traveled through to date. But, it was still nice to connect with these women, and it reminded me I need to update my Shenangster list. Perhaps even have a separate post to identify them. I will work on that.

The train is very nice. Comfortable seats and quiet, but to achieve that, there are windows which is prohibitive for photography. But, they do have an ‘open car’ in the front where you can go and stand in the open air to take pictures.
After lunch, to combat my food coma, I went out there and stood from about the point we were at the “national park” loop or stop, and stayed out there for a long time. Over an hour I think. I took a lot of pictures that I am positive I will delete 2/3rds of them because a pole got in the way, or a tree, or whatever. Also focusing issues, but on a moving train, there are issues getting a good shot at all. I want to get out the big lens and get good sheep pictures or cow pictures (I know that is crazy, but I am who I am). Since the train is moving, everything would be blurry and pointless, so… small lens, focus on the distance and not the foreground, and hope something turns out. Some beautiful mountains, lots of rolling hills and lots of logging. Of course trains usually run on the ‘wrong’ side of town because of the smell and noise, so when we pull into stations it is not always the prettiest view. But the landscapes are stunning.
As is typical with me, I see something and think, ‘oooh, take a pic.’ And by the time I get my phone up to take the pic, we are a mile down the road. I really need to find a way to curb that impulse.

The open car was very loud and full of awful train smells. It was also windy. Duh. I know.
But it was a wonderful experience. I did not want to leave because I did not want to miss any of the view that I could actually have a chance to get a decent pic and not a reflection in the glass. But I also wanted to sit down.

I met a man from Pennsylvania on the open car who was admiring the scenery. He pointed out a few shots that would have been amazing, but my photo brain spoke up and pointed out the power lines going across the picture. He didn’t even see them. Then he said something about wanting the train in the picture and it was too bad it was straight, so I said wait until we go around a corner, and the tail will come into view if you are on the correct side.
I take a lot of pictures, but I am always stunned when people listen to what I suggest. I don’t really know what I am doing. I don’t claim to know a lot about settings, or posing or anything. Yes, I take a lot of pictures, and I delete a lot of them too. I have never considered myself anything but someone who tries to take a good picture without the knowledge of how to consistently get a good picture. But I have a nice camera, and people carry the belief that the equipment equals talent.

Boy I could write a book about the depths of stupidity of that statement. Silly people.

Anyway, if I were allowed to stop everywhere I wanted to take a photo, we would still be just outside of Auckland. This train is a fabulous way to get an overview of the countryside, and again, I don’t need to worry about driving.

For me, the upgrade turned out to be perfect. I think coach would have been just fine, but today, the money was well spent. If you have the time, want to see the countryside, even without the upgrade, the train is worth a serious look when you are in New Zealand.