Off the Rails

Trains = tears

Originally published 28 April 2015

It was a beautiful summer's afternoon; the sun was out, the birds were chirping happily, I was running about chasing rabbits... then someone suggested going on this big, scary train and it all turned to custard. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

As somewhere a bit different to visit, not far from home, we went for a family trip out to the Whangaparoa Railway. It's not a very big place, but it packs in some animals, a playground, some native bush and a fully-fuctioning steam train. So far so good.

Normally animals are my favourite parts of any adventure. I'm well-known for ignoring Mummy and Daddy entirely if I see a cat, bird, or anything else about that size that I can chase. There were a few rabbit hutches that we were able to walk around in, so I had great fun trying to catch one. Never quite managed it, but that's probably because every time I moved near one Mum was two steps behind ready to yank me away.

I'm a little more cautious when it comes to the bigger animals though. There was a goat and some sheep, munching grass in the middle of a paddock, and we walked through some native bush to see a couple of donkeys.

Mummy thought I might like to see one up close, so took me right up to the gate, but I wasn't quite sure about that. Couldn't she see the sign on the gate warning visitors? Not that I could read it of course, but the word "bite" should have been a bit of a note of caution for her right?

Since I survived the encounter with the biting donkeys, we walked on to one of the playgrounds. This felt much safer - nothing with big teeth and a 'that baby looks tasty' look in its eyes to give me the willies. I had a great time driving some pretend cars and trucks.

There was a cool playhouse with slide as well, which Mummy took me for a few slides on. I think she was keen for a go herself, but only little kids allowed on this ride.

And that's probably where the day should have ended. But it didn't. It ended with being packed aboard this noisy, smoking, smelly contraption and racing around a track between trees. Okay, maybe it wasn't exactly racing, but it was very noisy and smoky. If it had been a pretend train, like the pretend cars and trucks, it would have been fine, but I definitely didn't enjoy the full-motion version. Nice of Dad to take a photo too!

Luckily I've got the Hartland food-loving genes though, so I was able to be mollified by some snacks when we eventually got off the scary train of death. I think from my reaction to it that it will be a while before Mum and Dad take me on another one. But I'll be ready for them just in case; as soon as I see big wheels sitting on rails, I'm legging it for the nearest exit.