The journey between Queenstown and Arrowtown by road is one of the most scenic in the country.
In the past few generations, New Zealanders have created an artificial distinction between the kind of transport that takes us on holiday, and the kind of transport that gets us around each day.
Affordable public transport is considered mundane, and restricted to our working lives, whereas tourist rail services and luxury coach tours are marketed (and priced) as journeys of a lifetime, even on the same stretches of road. Meanwhile, rail network closures over Christmas and New Year's, and half a century of TV ads have convinced many of us that the private car is the minimum requirement for a summer holiday.
But these distinctions are fragile, and as public transport revives in Aotearoa, more great journeys are becoming possible without a car, for the price of spare change. Here are a few of my favourite holidays that can be taken on our public transport networks.
When regional councils were created in the late 1980s, small cities and towns experienced a huge drop in public transport service. The Wairarapa was dealt a lucky hand when it was deemed part of the Greater Wellington region – the region that best preserved its rail system. So today, while the entire South Island lives without public transport rail, the Wairarapa Region offers a window into an Aotearoa that could be, with the kind of unhurried but magical service that existed all around rural Canterbury and Otago until the 1960s.
A trip on the Wairarapa line is a portal into another world. Leaving the busy green and grey valleys of Wellington in the morning, you'll travel through one of New Zealand's longest tunnels, before entering a light-filled pastoral landscape in the rain shadow of the Remutaka Ranges, gliding above Lake Wairarapa as you descend to Featherston. Friends of mine recently moved to Featherston after a love affair with southwestern France, and you can see why; the railway service, along with wineries, cheesemakers, 19th-century homesteads, and boutique bookshops completes a certain mise-en-scene.
It's worth exploring more than one town on the line. Featherston and Carterton – which both have train stations – are less manicured than Greytown and Martinborough, but if you like to holiday in places where you can imagine yourself actually living, I'd recommend them as stops. If you want luxury however, you really can't go past hiring a house and bikes in Martinborough, stocking up on cheese and visiting a few wineries. You can get to Greytown and Martinborough using the #200 bus service that connects to the Wairarapa line.
Since I first went there a decade ago, Waiheke has transformed from an island that felt like a trip to the 1970s, to a modern part of a dynamic city, with the amenities to match. While there are downsides to this, there are also advantages: food no longer costs more on the island than it does in Auckland, and Waiheke now boasts a bus service that is the equal of anywhere in the city – running every 10-15 minutes along main spine areas like Ostend and Oneroa, and every half an hour everywhere else.
Waiheke is the perfect destination for a public transport holiday. Not only will you travel to the island by ferry through the glorious Hauraki Gulf, but you'll also get to try out one of the island's smooth new electric buses. If you want to ride an electric bus, just wait at Oneroa or Ostend for one to come past – you'll know them by the yellow mirrors.
For a holiday on Waiheke I'd suggest renting somewhere to stay near Palm Beach, going for swims in the morning, and then taking my favourite bus route on the island – the 802 between Oneroa, Palm Beach and Rocky Bay. On a Saturday, take the 802 to its terminus at Rocky Bay by the incredible Ōmihi Hall, which is run as a cafe on Saturdays and Sundays (9am-1pm). In the evening, the 50A or 50B will get you to two of Auckland's best restaurants – Ki Māha and Three Seven Two on The Strand in Onetangi.
As Auckland dramatically improved its public transport in the 2010s, the received wisdom in smaller cities remained that frequent public transport doesn't work without a large population. Since 2017, Queenstown has shown up almost all of those cities, by creating a high-frequency, 7-day-a-week, flat fare bus service, with only some 40,000 permanent residents. It runs at least every 15 minutes along a main spine, there are services from 6am to midnight, and all bus fares cost only $2. Soon after launching, Orbus became New Zealand's third most used public transport system per capita after Wellington and Auckland – overlapping Christchurch.
The No 2 route – which travels to Arrowtown every half-hour, must be one of Aotearoa's most beautiful bus routes, with brand new buses rolling beside Lake Wakatipu and Lake Hayes. Wander the perfectly manicured stone town centre of Arrowtown, walk by the river, and finish with dinner at La Rumbla, before taking the bus back to Queenstown in the early evening. I often travel to Queenstown to work with the Sherwood, the Frankton Rd hotel and music venue, who are hosting The Veils this April. The No 2, and most other buses stop right outside. Oh, and if you're flying into Queenstown you no longer need to spend the equivalent of an airfare – using a Bee Card to catch the bus from the airport to the city is just $2.
Every weekday evening, New Zealand's only public transport train with a bar leaves Wellington station. It travels to Palmerston North in 2 hours 5 minutes, and is Aotearoa's last surviving public transport train to cross a regional boundary (though Te Huia will finally end that distinction when it opens between Hamilton and Auckland this year).
The Capital Connection is a time machine to the public transport culture of the 1970s. It's full of workers and bureaucrats from the Kāpiti Coast, Horowhenua and Manawatū jostling for the best seats and bantering with other regulars, and in the mornings the train serves two slices of toast, spreads and coffee for $5. In the evenings, as long as you arrive 20 minutes early to pack your luggage (or bikes) in the luggage cart, you should get a seat in the front two cars near the bar, where unlike the 1970s, they serve a respectable selection of craft beer.
For a one-night holiday or evening excursion, I'd suggest taking the 5:15pm service from Wellington as far as Waikanae. The express train, with no stops between Wellington and Paraparaumu, will glide over Porirua Harbour, and you'll see the sun start to set over Kāpiti Island from the hills above Paekakariki. When you get to Waikanae, have dinner at Salt and Wood Collective's tap house and restaurant. Because Waikanae is the last stop on the Metlink network, your options from there are wide; you could stay the night on the Kāpiti Coast and take the Paekakariki Escarpment Track the next day (two stops back on a Metlink train), or simply take a regular Metlink train back to Wellington that evening.
With the competition of Queenstown's bus system, Dunedin has been catching up and bringing high-frequency, late-night buses and lower fares to its network. Like Queenstown, all buses in Dunedin have bike racks, and herein lies holiday potential. Take your bikes on the No 18 bus to Portobello, which goes every 20 minutes. It's a beautiful journey along rocky, bird-filled volcanic shores, and it also boasts some of our most beautiful, community-painted bus stops. You can stop early to explore the newly separated cycleway that runs nearly all the way along the shore. Use Portobello as a base to explore the Otago Peninsula, and its world famous bird watching and wildlife by bike. I particularly like Papanui Inlet, where you'll see all kinds of wading birds, and kōtare waiting on the power lines.
When you're ready for the city again, take your bikes on the Port to Port Ferry to Port Chalmers, a 10-minute trip that saves a long drive back through Dunedin. The privately run ferry is the first public transport service between the two towns since regular ferries ran to meet the Port Chalmers train station in the 1950s. Have lunch at the historic Carey's Bay Hotel, explore Port Chalmers' elegant but eerie centre, and walk to the Sculpture Garden that longtime resident Ralph Hotere established by Flagstaff lookout. From Port Chalmers you can take the bus back to Dunedin, or take the separated cycleway beside the railway line – it starts a few bus stops after Port Chalmers. Back in Dunedin, I thoroughly recommend two spots near the new central bus hub: Side On for breakfast and lunch, and Woof! for drinks, cocktails and shared small plates in the evening.
Antonie Tonnon will perform his show Rail Land will at the Auckland Arts Festival over three nights in March.
For more New Zealand travel ideas and inspiration, go to newfinder.co.nz and newzealand.com
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