Dunedin Railways — Attraction in South Island

I treated myself to a trip on The Stargazer from Dunedin to Hindon and back. The trip didn't disappoint, from arrival where staff from Tuhura Museum helped everyone get their stargazing apps up and running to getting off at the end.

Precinct at the Tuhura Museum provided us with a great tasty 3 course meal. It was much appreciated by everyone from the comments I could hear from the seats around me. The lamb was magnificent and went well with my glass of wine.

Once we arrived at Hindon, they divided us into 3 groups, and we attended the different workshops on offer. My favorite was looking through the telescopes provided by The Beverly Begg Observatory. It was pretty special getting a close-up look at our celestial neighbors. Much kudos to them as they had been waiting up there in the cold for us all to arrive in our warm and comfortable train. I keep thinking about the beautiful Jewellry Box constellation with all the different colours. I'm now looking at the night sky differently. Thank you to all who took part in teaching us about our skies. Finally, sated and tired, we hopped back on our warm train to travel home. But they weren't finished with us yet. On the way home,we got to listen to astrophysicist Michelle Thaller answer questions that we had put to her earlier. She covered everything from going to Mars, Aurora, and pineapple on pizza. She has a great way of putting information that sticks with you and is fun.

It was a fantastic night, and if you have the opportunity to go on this trip, I couldn't recommend it to you highly enough. Just go and enjoy a great...

Leaving from the amazing Dunedin Station, I had the chance to ride both The Inlander (morning) and The Seasider (afternoon) as they were both running on the same day. It’s a great way to enjoy some of Dunedin’s beautiful natural landscapes not easily accessible otherwise.

The Inlander includes a stop at Hinton where passengers can hop off and stretch their legs while the locomotive was re-orientated for the return trip. For The Seasider, it stops at a certain point during the journey before the locomotive is re-set for the journey back to Dunedin.

Refreshments are available on board both services. Darryl, our guide on both trips, provided commentary sharing points of interest along each journey. He, along with the rest of the crew, were friendly and available for assistance at boarding and throughout the journey.

I enjoyed both trips. However, if I had to choose one, I would recommend The Seasider as I found travelling along the coastline was more picturesque.

Even if you don't plan on taking a trip, consider visiting Dunedin Station which is a beautiful historical building. The exterior was being renovated when I was there. However, the interior was open and worth having a...

Overall, this was a very good trip. The views through the Taieri Gorge were stunning, and the onboard service was pretty good. My family and I really enjoyed the experience.

However, there were a couple of issues that I feel need to be addressed. We purchased a "family of 4" ticket, but to our surprise, we were assigned seats in four different areas of the carriage — not together. No one informed us about this at the time of booking or before payment. Thankfully, we managed to find seats together on board, but I believe it's essential that families purchasing group tickets are clearly told in advance if they will not be seated together.

Another point to consider is the size of the viewing platforms. They were quite small and became crowded quickly. For a better experience, it might be worth considering something similar to what KiwiRail offers — a dedicated, spacious viewing carriage that can accommodate more passengers safely and comfortably.

With a few improvements, this could easily be a 5-star experience. The scenery and the charm of the journey are...