There is a huge group of us doing the All Day Rail Cart adventure. 33 people in 15 carts will be joining us. Be sure to read about the Forgotten World and the building of the train tracks used on this tour.
This is a long post as I recount our visits through each town: Taurunui, Matiere, Ohura, Mangaporo, Tokirima, Heao, Tangaraku, Tangarakau, Kohuratuhai, and Whangamomona. View itinerary.
The guides loaded everyone into a shuttle for a 10 minute drive to the rail cart staging area.
We get a brief safety lesson and are loaded into the rail carts.
We are staged about 100 meters away from each other so we don’t see the others (most of the time).
Matt and I get our own rail cart!
The first tunnel we go through is the longest tunnel on the line. It is 1.5km long and we stop at the half way mark. This tunnel has 15 alcoves and is 220′ below the surface. It took 9 years to build and stays at a constant 8 degrees C.
Our guides tell us about the build of the tunnel and then we go lights out. Wowza it is pitch black. You can’t even see your hands in front of your face!
Matiere
Unfortunately, Matiere is now a ghost town but it used to be a bustling town. The working men hung out at the Cosmopolitan Club (Cosy Club) and the women hung out at Daisy May.
Matiere is the only place that made red bricks for the tunnels. The brick factory was a big part in the construction of 5 tunnels.
In 1922 when all of the tunnels were built the owner of the brick factory shut it down and opened a bakery.
Locals had a hard time telling the difference between the bread and bricks.
Ohura & Mangaporo
The name Magaporo means “Muddy Water” which is appropriate as the river running along side the town is very muddy. This town, with Ohura were huge coal mining towns.
Ohura was the place to be. During its peak it boasted of having 3 garages, a Ford Dealership, cinema, primary and secondary schools, sports club, entertainment group, and 6 churches. Now, there are less than 40 people living here and the land is exceedingly cheap. A fuel station and garage is for sale for $150,000NZD if you are interested.
Tokirima
We stopped in Tokirima for lunch.
This was a farming community that was repeatedly devasted by the floods.
There were lots of information signs around the camp grounds. But with the lunch stop it made it difficult to explore.
The postal service started in 1909 and the first post office started here in 1937.
This postal depot was solely run by women and closed in 1988.
Heao
Heao is famous for the joining of the two lines. The Stratford line met the Taurunui line to complete the railway.
A magnificent crowd of 4,000 people showed up and 6 trains converge for this special occasion. The prime minister put in the last sleeper. 
Tangaraku
This was by far one of the most interesting facts during our rail cart tour.
The engineers wanted to build something across a huge ravine in Tangaraku .
Engineers built a stunning structure out of wood. They sourced the wood from the trees located in the region, which were known to be exceedingly strong.
However, once the viaduct was built they realized that it would not withstand the harsh weather conditions.
So, they made crazy decision to bury it!
They used mud and stone from the surrounding tunnels and slowly covered the entire trestle viaduct.
The train ran over the top of the newly buried viaduct.
Several years ago an engineer dug up a small portion of the trestle viaduct. They discovered that the structure was as sound as the day it was built!
Tangarakau
The small town of Tangarakau is known for its coal mining and steam power factory.
Unfortunately, both left the town with a constant layer of muck in the air.
Kohuratuhai
There were only a few places that had platforms remaining. Kohuratuhai was one of them.
This was a bustling town that actually had 2 platforms which allowed for multiple trains at the same time.
A group of elderly men salvaged the town hall (top left photo). They needed a meeting place for their motorcycle club.
Whangamomona
Our final stop was the Republic of Whangamomona.
The residents of Whangamomona self-proclaimed their town a sovereign micro-nation in 1989.
There are a lot of very colorful people in this small town.
Yes, it is actually its own republic, has its own government, and a goat for president!
We stay at the Whangamomona hotel which is for the most part still in its original form. The rooms have shared bathrooms. We stayed in the room above Matt with the large balcony.
If you are interested in becoming a NZ business owner you can purchase this hotel.
An empty toilet occupies the corner of the main intersection to town.
You can also find a bull made of driftwood, a phone booth with a doll inside, and a facade store.
Almost every building has been marked as a “Heritage Site.”
The locals still use the old post office and blacksmith.
The original McCluggage Bros store is now just a facade.
The owner filled the window displays with a lot of “old junk.”
Our blog posts run 6 weeks behind actual live events.
We took the rail cart tour in early February 2026.
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