The Kingston Flyer

Called the Flyer because it was so fast when it was built but now the journey in the old steam train seems to go at a leisurely pace and only part of the line is now open. It was designed to be a fast transport from the gold fields of the interior of NZ to the coastal ports. But the gold rush had slowed from a peak of 18000 miners in 1864 to a few by the time the line was actually completed so then travellers used it to connect to the steamship on Lake Wakatipu for the new town of Queenstown.
We saw much evidence of the old gold workings especially around Arrowtown and later were impressed, when taken by car, by the way in which the alluvial workings were no longer obvious and the miners' dwellings are now used by trout fishermen on the famous Mataura River.

(Track 26 - train)