This has been one of the best Fathers’
Days, ever. To start with, Jenny gave me this badge, which she insisted I wear.
We went for brunch to the Hop Garden.
I had Townsend’s Sutton Hoo.
Then Noreen and Jenny took me to the Silverstream Railway. I found
out I was free.
We went on a steam
hauled train
and this diesel railcar.
It was good fun although Jenny put on her
serious face when asked to pose
but couldn’t keep it up for long.
In the workshops are a number of old
locomotives. This is C512
built in Glasgow in 1875. It spent most of its working life on the West Coast
of the South Island, finally retiring in 1972. It has lived at Silverstream
since 1984 and was in steam until 2009 when it required a major overhaul.
This is an example of the high point of New
Zealand steam, Ka935.
In other news, the story that has gripped
New Zealand for the last couple of months is that of the errant Emperor Penguin, Happy
Feet. After washing up north of Wellington it was nursed back to health at
Wellington Zoo after eating sand in an attempt to cool down (mistaking it for
snow). It left Wellington last week and has just been released
into the Southern Ocean. You can follow its progress at it was
fitted with a tracking device. I just hope it doesn’t get eaten by an orca or
other predator.
