Reflections on board Dora, the Northern Explorer Train: Wellington – Auckland
Today we hopped aboard Dora, the Northern Explorer Train, for one of the great train journeys of New Zealand from Wellington to Auckland. It was a day to sit back, relax, enjoy the scenery, and watch the world go by as the train wound its way north, stopping just occasionally to let passengers on or off.
To do this route by bicycle would have been a lot, lot longer than the 11 hours today’s train trip took, especially considering the pace we keep! The rail journey was 648km, and it cost us NZ$385. The bicycle route would be around 700-800kms which would have taken us at least 10-20 days of riding.
Reflecting on our first ever bicycle tour
With our first ever bicycle tour practically complete now (bar a few kilometres in Auckland this evening to Tracy’s house, and a few tomorrow to Debbie’s house in Pukekohe) we can reflect on what a fantastic adventure this has been.
We have racked up a little more than 1,000 kilometres of cycling during the past seven weeks. Our average distance was around 45kms per day on the days we did ride. We were mere novices enjoying the slow pace of bicycle touring by riding one day, stopping for two days, or maybe more. This was compared to a couple of hard core riders we met who rode every single day, and who, in our humble opinion, experienced next to nothing of a local place or its people. Slow travel is definitely our preferred way to go.
We’ve taken buses and boats, tied the bikes on trailers and trains, gotten the occasional lift from friends, slept the odd night in beds and bunks, were flat out in Olive the tent for 40 nights, and now we can safely say it has been, without doubt, one of the best holidays we’ve ever taken.
It has been exhilarating, and at times hard work, particularly with a heavy load on those uphill climbs when you just wish you could find another gear, but oh so rewarding. The slow pace of travel, despite the time and distance apparently passing so quickly, made us notice and appreciate everything around us, and provided the perfect opportunity to stop and meet the local people.
The sense of accomplishment we felt each day as we would look back and see how far we’d come is both real and humbling. The views and vistas from the saddle, not to mention the heightened awareness of our senses, are incomparable to that of speeding along in a car. From noticing every hedgerow, hearing every birdsong, smelling every rose (and roadkill!), to tasting the salt as we sweated it out on the uphill slogs, and feeling the tar seal blistering and popping like bubble wrap on the road beneath us – every aspect made us feel a new and real connection with the land around us.
We have made more special memories in this beautiful country that we will always hold dear to our hearts.
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