Forgotten World
Easter 2021
Over Easter 2021 clients enjoyed a 4-day small group tour escorted by Jeryl to the Forgotten World in the King Country. We started our trip by catching the Northerner train to National Park and did the famous Raurimu Spiral just before we disembarked.
Our Forgotten World bus was waiting for us at the station and we then travelled back to Taumarunui. We checked into the Forgotten World Motel and had a look around the township independently. After enjoying a lovely dinner that evening we headed to bed for an early start the next morning. The next day we travelled by bus to the start of the Forgotten World railway where we boarded our customised golf-cart buggies in groups of 2 or 4 per cart.
The weather was great and although a bit chilly and a few patches of fog, we had a wonderful trip through to Whangamomona, our stop overnight. Along the rail trip we stopped many times to have the history of a specific area explained and delicious morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea stops – all with lovely home baking. We spend the late afternoon and evening at the Whangamomona Hotel.
We overnighted there and set off the next morning for the last part of the rail journey. Another blue-dome day and more stunning scenery, stops and home-baking. The Forgotten World bus met at the end of the trip and we travelled back to Taumarunui through the scenic Tangarakau Gorge where we spent our last night away at the Forgotten World Motel. Our final dinner was a delicious banquet at the local Thai restaurant. The next morning we went by bus to Bradleys Gardens, a stunning Victorian walled home garden developed over a few years, that now covers 5 acres.
The love and attention on the gardens was inspirational and the visit here was a highlight for many on the tour. We then went to the Lavender Farm where we enjoyed a morning tea of hot cross buns. After walking around the lavender garden we then had a ticky-tour of the Taumarunui township before heading back to the Forgotten World Motel to collect our luggage.
We were then taken to the Taumarunui Railway Station where we waited for the Northerner to take us back to Auckland. On the trip home we were advised that there had been a fire near The Strand, Parnell and the train journey would finish at Middlemore. After hastily re-arranging our taxi vans to come and pick us up from Middlemore instead of Parnell, we then made a dash for the ferry. We were the last on board and it made for a rather exciting ending to our trip with lots of laughs on the ferry trip home.