The Whale Train

Sunday 30th March 2025

We've teamed up with the Pounamu Tourism Group, to bring you a heritage train experience from the heart of the Marlborough winelands to the coastal town of Kaikoura. Your journey is powered by the vintage red and white, classic Da 1410 locomotive, which hauls our original renovated Victorian carriages.

Departing from Blenheim, traverse the rolling southern hills of Marlborough, carving a line through the Dashwood Pass and bursting onto the beautiful Awatere Valley with the peak of the majestic sentinel, Mount Tapuae-o-Uenuku standing guard at the rear. Continue across the historic Awatere River rail bridge to the quintessential country town of Seddon.

Beyond Seddon, the landscapes then open up to greet the Pacific Coastline for the journey to Kaikoura, a town acclaimed for its abundant marine wildlife, famed resident sperm whale population and dramatic mountain backdrops. Towering over Kaikoura, the ‘Guardians of the Seas’ - the mountains of the Southern Alps, rise majestically from the deep trenches of the Southern Ocean with the railway line wedged in between.

Of particular interest is the remnants of the 2016 Kaikōura 7.8 magnitude earthquake which has left clear evidence of its sheer power and destructive capabilities, along this breathtaking stretch of shoreline. This is equally matched by the impressive and incredible engineering solutions that restored the state highway and railway in record time.

The train has the advantage of balconies at both ends of each carriage which enables passengers a convenient viewing position along the scenic journey.