New Zealand's longest running passenger service, the Northern Explorer is a long distance scenic train service running between Wellington and Auckland. Experience the extremes of New Zealand's scenery, from the fertile farmlands of Waikato to the volcanic peaks of the Central Plateau and the sparkling Kapiti Coast.
Posted By : moshekboscoc
More information on the scenic or attraction point in advance in between stops, such as itinerary and location map, allows spare time to prepare for taking the pictures through out the journey.
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Posted On : 2023-12-18 00:43:06 
Posted By : Diane_R
The Northern Express was a good train ride with some great scenery. Although we knew the ride was 11 hours it was a very long time to be on the train and made for a long day. Still, it was better than adding another flight to our itinerary
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Posted On : 2023-12-08 17:49:00 
Posted By : Moira_B
Relaxing on a very comfortable train with friendly service and enjoying the beautiful countryside scenery!
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Posted On : 2023-12-04 16:10:37
Posted By : Jason B
This could be an outstanding experience, but I think it needs to be modernised.
There is no way to pre assign seating, so we sent an email with our request that was accommodated. We missed the “no wheeled bags in the carriage” that is on the ticket, no one could explain why a small, airplane carryon bag that happened to have 2 wheels was a no-no. It had to be checked in so some last minute reorganising was required.
The carriage is comfortable enough with enough space between seats that we were comfortable for the 11+ hours (will come back to that). Large windows afford good views. There is a viewing carriage that is open on the sides to allow unobstructed viewing and photography, this worked really well.
The coffee on board was ok and pre packaged food acceptable, but nothing to rave about.
There is a commentary track that was very informative and can be heard through headphones plugged in to the seat. The plug location between the seats meant that the headsets or jacks get damaged, one of ours was terrible.
I don’t know if it is the rolling stock or the track, but 11+ hours for what is a 1 hour flight is really long. We did it in summer so there was plenty of light arriving at 7pm, but in winter the last few hours would be in darkness.
Arrival at Auckland was shambolic. All the passengers stood on the narrow platform with bags being unloaded. First you couldn’t get to the bag area, then those who got bags couldn’t get through the crowd trying to get to the bags. All this was out on an open platform, I can’t imagine how it would go if it was raining.
We are glad that we did the trip, but it is definitely a one-off experience though.
If there were some improvements (how about wifi) it would be just so much better.
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Posted On : 2023-11-29 22:55:42
Posted By : Brendan_C
A wonderful experience that lived up to all of the hype that had been offered me by friends. Loved every moment
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Posted On : 2023-11-24 17:00:52
Posted By : Rita_R
This train goes through some of the most beautiful sceneries of the north island of New Zealand. The journey covers almost the entire length o the north island and travels through some of the pristine areas. The train has a very nice cafe and service is great.
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Posted On : 2023-11-20 14:23:57
Posted By : lavenderd2017
Wow what a delightful way to see north island. It was a long train ride, we arrived an hour later than expected (it happens with trains, bring your patience) so a 13 hour day. However, we came prepared, our laptop preloaded with movies, our handheld game systems with full batteries and even a pillow for nap times. They had charge ports though nothing strong enough to run an apple laptop while it's running. More like charge your laptop over a couple hours then it'll be happy. Internet was spotty, but we were all good. The views where outstanding, with 13hrs of it we didn't feel bad playing games and watching movies for half of it. I was so surprised by the food, it was some of the best we had during our 2 week stay in New Zealand. The beef cheek and veg was delicious. The veggie hand pie was soooo good. I wish I hadn't been afraid to try it earlier, I'd have had it twice. I was shocked to enjoy their muffins/scones. Even the pancake breakfast was good though it's best paired with the yogurt parfait.
The poor staff though. They are very tired and it was obvious that moral was low. I hope they are paid well. The only thing that was astounding in that it was insultingly gross was that a white man was running the show while the women of color were running the kitchen, so draconian. We found this on both trains we rode. They seriously need to change this.
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Posted On : 2023-11-14 17:43:48
Posted By : BobS09
A nice ride though arriving late at destination due to barrier issues. Views were great. A nice way to see the north island.
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Posted On : 2023-11-14 14:15:41
Posted By : YINMING_Y
Cattle, sheep and some horse feeding and resting themselves on the plain, sloppy and hilly pastures in a dream land ! Mostly on both sides of the train. Eyes are too busy to rest for 11 hours of the trip !
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Posted On : 2023-11-11 12:40:28
Posted By : Q2623KFtonyl
The staff were excellent very helpful, but the trip was spoilt by a cold & unheated train & uncomfortable seating not the experience you expect on a long journey, very disappointing
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Posted On : 2023-11-09 06:17:52
