To celebrate another welcome summer’s day in the Bay of Islands and exercise my sea legs, I decided to take a walk along the beautiful cycle trail from Kawakawa to Opua.
But because I love trains, I opted to cover the first four kilometers of the trail as a passenger on the Historic Bay of Islands Railway lead by the beautifully restored steam engine Gabriel.
Gabriel departed the station at 12:00 hours with people, bikes, and puppies aboard and started her transit down main street…..
….passing the Kawakawa theatre….
…and the famous Hundertwasser Public Toilets…
….being welcomed by many fans as she made her way out of town.
The ride was wonderful but over way too soon!
I had so much fun I almost stayed on for the return trip from Taumarere, but I preferred a seven kilometer walk to an eleven kilometer walk, and so I bid farewell to Gabriel and continued along the rail trail.
The original train line ended in Taumarere at the upper reaches of the Kawakawa river where transported coal was loaded to waiting ships.
The line was later extended from Taumarere to Opua, but that now disused section has been converted into a well maintained cycle trail.
.While my excursion after the train ride was relatively uneventful, it was beautiful and peaceful….
….offering some much needed exercise and a bit of alone time….
…with an occasional, welcome interruption from friendly cyclists.
I was surprised how quickly I made my way back to Opua….
….a nice place to drop your anchor.
And what was the Captain doing while I was taking my lovely stroll? Finishing maintenance on Amandla and readying our new (very used) car for our road trip to the South Island!
Adventure awaits!
This post was inspired by Jo’s Monday Walk
What a totally fabulous place you live, Lisa! I could be calm and peaceful here for the rest of my days 🙂 The inclusion of the steam train ride is wonderful. When our son was small we spent many hours chuffing about on the North York Moors (and beyond 🙂 )
Your photos are a delight. Many thanks for joining me and bringing a little more beauty into my life.
I’m so glad that you enjoyed my walk Jo! Thank you for hosting this wonderful challenge
Great images Lisa, it reminds me of the steam train which is near my home which travel’s from my home town of Aberystwyth to Devil’s Bridge which take’s about one hour. Coincidentally Lisa I have spent all of my working life on the railway. I first joined British Rail as an apprentice (missing steam train railway by one year), and then continued with Great Western Trains.
Thank’s for your support for my blog I greatly appreciate your help and am learning from your fantastic blog.
Have more great day’s out and let us join you in your travel’s via your blog.
So good to hear from you Colin! Thank you so much for the compliment on the images! I did know that you were a ‘railman’ from your Google+ profile and thought you’d enjoy the train photos :-). Am loving your new blog and looking forward to seeing more posts…perhaps including an image or two of the steam train that travels from Aberystwyth to Devil’s Bridge.
Dear Lisa,
We are on our way to the south island. Tomorrow we take the ferry.
Yo have done a nice trip and you have made great pictures. I’ve seen that you now have a car as well. What are your plans?
We have bought a tablet, but I have still to learn….
Cheers to you and Fabio
Thomas & Annette
Ahoy there Thomas and Annette!
We are behind you by about a week. Heading toward Wellington where we plan to stay until around the 26th. Will then hop a ferry to the South Island. The Captain is allergic to plans so we don’t have any beyond that.
I am hoping that we can catch up with you during our travels. We LOVE your company.
And thanks for the lovely compliments on the photos!
[…] Kawakawa-Opua Cycle Trail […]
Thanks so much for walking (and sailing) with me virtually Yvette. Funny that toilets are featured in one of your posts as well this week 🙂
As I write this we are at the Honda dealership having the electrics fixed…our first (and hopefully) last repair.
Then its back on the road with more walks to come.
enjoyed the walk – and your land yacht will go and go and go – cos hondas/toyotas just seem to do that 🙂
so enjoy your highway miles in it = and in this lovely walk post, I liked the reflection shot the most – then the restroom – and that dog as passenger – but all so good and actually, going to go thru it uno mas before I leave your blog – peace
I love steam railways Lisa – they have been a favourite since I was a little girl! What a handsome dog sitting on the train too 🙂 The walk looks lovely, relaxing and peaceful and you’ve taken some lovely photos along the way! Will enjoy reading about your road trip to the South Island too! 🙂
Thank you so much for walking with me virtually Rosemary! Am headed to the South Island on the Interisland Ferry as I write this and am looking forward to following in your footsteps!
What wonderful pictures! I totally imagined myself enjoying all those beautiful views, walks, and rides.
Thank you.
You are very welcome. Thank you for such a wonderful compliment!
Bravo Lisa! I enjoy your articles very much. I post a number of them to my Twitter site. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
You are lovely to say so Gerry and I am absolutely honored that you feature my articles among the other great bloggers that you share on Twitter. I very much enjoy your blog as well! Cheers!
Stunning photos, as always, Lisa. I would have loved to join this bike ride.
Thank you Lucile! It is amazing how much fun one can capture where ever they happen to wander with a camera!