I was recently unexpectedly graced with a couple of weeks off from the rigors of "humping moo juice" (as someone once said) so without hesitation the tribe was bundled into the thunderbus and we high tailed it down to the sanctuary of the family farm, which is nestled in a quiet piece of paradise within the Marlborough Sounds...

Here I am treated to a great many wonderful things including fishing on the family launch, hunting for pigs in the hills above the farm and kayaking on the stunning rivers in the region.
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Be afraid..... be very afraid....
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Kayaking with family on the Pelorus River.
Sadly I dont get to visit very often, so I make the most of my time while I am there and try to do a great variety of things..... its very relaxing and is without doubt my favorite place to be on the planet....
This time round we took the chance to go on a road trip to visit some friends and family further down the mainland, taking in the sights of the West Coast, Greymouth, Arthurs pass ending with a sobering drive around Christchurch and the overwhelming destruction of the suburb we used to live in....
Anyway, on with the trains...
After a 2 hour drive down the Wairau Valley, through Murcheson, and across to Inangahua Junction. We stopped for lunch in Reefton. The weather was pretty dodgy, with regular periods of rain broken by short bursts of drizzle. Our infant daughter had decided she needed a break from the confines of her car seat, so seeing as though there was nothing of great interest to see at the railway yards, we found a nice wee spot to relax beside the mummified remains of the only remaining single fairlie on the planet... (I think). 
Black hissy things are really not my scene, but I do admit to being quite intruiged by this old pile of metal, dating from the late 1800's, the old girl saw service with the NZR until the 1940's whence she was sold to a local bush tram for work on a logging site. Eventually retired R28 was given to the community of Reefton in the late 1950's, stuffed and mounted at a childerens park, it was moved to its current site in the 80's....
Another hour down the road and we reached our stop for the night - Greymouth. 
Quite by chance we had arrived just in time to witness the depature of the Tranz Alpine, hauled by a nice clean (ish) pair of KiwiRail clad DC's.
Not much later the poor weather we had experienced in Reefton caught up with us and the famous West Coast rain took hold, not that it deterred me much.. 
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Coal train loading point at Stillwater.
After a coffee and a chat, abandoning wife and child at family friends, I headed up to Stillwater to take my chances at seeing a coal train. 
The place was deathly quiet and light was fading. Having left my scanner on its charger 1500km away in Taranaki (doh! Idiot!) I was forced to ring one of my "contacts" to see if any trains were in the area, and what luck, a coalie was due into Stillwater any moment to head up the mines for loading at Ngakawau. 
And sure enough a long black snake rolled into view with a couple of grubby looking snot rockets on the front..
Determined to get a nice shot of this train I head back north along the line looking for a suitable place to get a shot..... 
Sadly I underestimated the speed at which empty coal trains can travel the valley, and as I was scoping out a potential spot at Red Jacks, around the corner came the train........ bugger....
With heavy rain now falling, light fading fast and my curfew for a dinner appointment approaching fast, I gave it a rest for the day and headed back.....
Part 2 soon....

AH
2/5/2012 01:21:18 pm

Great shots as usual despite nature and other hinderances Andrew! And I do admire your work/life balance ;-)

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