Kaikoura railway station, Whale Watch, New Zealand

Description: Between 1874 and 1883, surveys were undertaken to find the best route to link Nelson and Picton with the rest of the South Island. The initial concept was for a railway down the Wairau Valley, joining a main trunk line from Canterbury, with branch lines to Nelson and the West Coast. A Royal Commission decided, however, that a route down the eastern seaboard had the ‘least disadvantages’.
The final Oaro to Kaikoura section required considerable tunnelling of steep and unstable ground.
The 348 km Picton to Addington Railway was officially opened on December 15, 1945. The longest railway construction project in New Zealand’s history involved laying track, building bridges, tunnels and moving tons of spoil. (source: www.theprow.org.nz)

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Keywords: Kaikoura, New Zealand, True Travel, train, whale watch, railway station, railway, town, people, mountains

Exif: Exposure: 1/80, Aperture: 11.0, ISO: 100

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