Tunnel Hill railway at McDonald’s Saddle
Tunnels are amazing. Whenever I see one, I can never walk or drive past without stopping to go inside to investigate. On this occasion, I was heading for Balclutha having recently left the small town of Owaka. I had spent the day walking the Catlins River Track near Tawanui in the Owaka Valley and by the time I arrived back at my car, it was mid afternoon. Leaving Tawanui, I arrived in Owaka where I stopped for a bite to eat before continuing on to Tunnel Hill, the location of a disused 250 m long railway tunnel. Built between 1879 and 1915, the Catlins River Branch railway formed part of New Zealand’s national rail network which was constructed to provide access to the local timber industries. The tunnel was finished in 1896.
Great photo sad it’s not used I wonder how many tunnels there are in NZ just lying derelict