Kaikohe is the seat of the Far North District of New Zealand, situated on State Highway 12 about 260 km from Auckland. It is the largest inland town and highest community above sea level in the Northland Region. With a population of over 4000 people it is a shopping and service centre for an extensive farming district and is sometimes referred to as "the hub of the north".
The Kingston Branch was a major railway line in Southland, New Zealand. It formed part of New Zealand's national rail network for over a century: construction began in 1864, Kingston was reached in 1878, and it closed in 1979. For much of its life, it was considered a secondary main line rather than a branch line, and in its earlier years, it was sometimes known as the "Great Northern Railway". Today, the southern portion now forms a part of the Wairio Branch and the northernmost 14 kilometres was used by the Kingston Flyer.
The Waikaia Branch, also known as the Switzers Branch, was a branch line railway in Southland, New Zealand. Proposed as early as the 1870s, it was not opened until 1909 and was operated by the New Zealand Railways Department for half a century until its closure in 1959.
The Dargaville Branch is a branch line railway that leaves the North Auckland Line not far south of Whangarei and runs westward to Dargaville. Construction of this relatively short line took approximately two decades, and when it was completed, it linked the now closed Donnellys Crossing Section with the national rail network. The branch has been closed to all traffic since 2014 and is currently used by a tourist railcart operation.
The Donnellys Crossing Section, also known as the Kaihu Valley Railway or Kaihu Branch, was a railway line in Northland, New Zealand. Initially an isolated line of 35.91 kilometres (22.31 mi), it became a branch line when the Dargaville Branch was opened and connected it with the North Auckland Line and the rest of the national rail network in 1943. The branch was closed in 1959.
The North Auckland Line is a major section of New Zealand's national rail network, and is made up of the following parts: the portion of track that runs northward from Westfield Junction to Newmarket Station; from there, westward to Waitakere; from there, northward to Otiria via Whangārei. The first section was opened in 1868 and the line was completed in 1925. The line, or sections of it, have been known at various times as the Kaipara Line, the Waikato-Kaipara Line, the Kaipara Branch and the North Auckland Main Trunk.
The Onerahi Branch, sometimes known as the Grahamstown Railway, was a branch line railway in the Northland Region of New Zealand. It operated from 1911 until 1933 and linked the city of Whangārei to the nearby harbour in Onerahi.
The Opua Branch or Otiria-Opua Industrial Line, partially still operational as the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway, is a former section of the North Auckland Line in the Northland Region of New Zealand, between Otiria and the Bay of Islands township of Opua. The first section was constructed as a bush tramway in 1868 and converted to a railway in the next decade. Today the railway is partially used by the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway, which runs tourist services between Kawakawa and Lone Cow. The line's centrepiece is the section where it runs down along the main street of Kawakawa.
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was corporatised on 1 April 1982 into the New Zealand Railways Corporation. Originally, railway construction and operation took place under the auspices of the former provincial governments and some private railways, before all of the provincial operations came under the central Public Works Department. The role of operating the rail network was subsequently separated from that of the network's construction. From 1895 to 1993 there was a responsible Minister, the Minister of Railways. He was often also the Minister of Public Works.
The Otago Central Railway (OCR) or in later years Otago Central Branch Railway, now often referred to as the Taieri Gorge Railway, was a secondary railway line in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand.
The Ross Branch, officially known as the Hokitika Line since 2011, and previously as the Hokitika Industrial Line, is a branch line railway that forms part of New Zealand's national rail network. It is located in the Westland District of the South Island's West Coast region and opened to Hokitika in 1893. A further extension to Ross operated from 1909 until 1980.
The Maungataniwha Range is a volcanic mountain range located in Northland Region of New Zealand. The Mangamukas, as it is known by the local residents and many Northlanders because of the name of the settlement and river on the southern side, separates Kaitaia and the Aupouri Peninsula from the rest of Northland. The highest point in the Maungataniwha Ranges is Raetea at 744m. The range is home to many kauri trees and part of the range is a part of Northland Forest Park.
The Northland Express, also known as the Opua Express, was an express passenger train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department between 1925 and 1956. It ran from Auckland via Whangārei to Opua in the Bay of Islands.
Ōkaihau is a small town in the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island, just north of Kaikohe. State Highway 1 passes through Ōkaihau making it fairly busy. Ōkaihau has a primary school and a secondary school.
The Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Trust (BOIVRT) is a heritage railway in Kawakawa, in Northland, New Zealand. The railway operates on part of the former Opua Branch railway.
Otiria is a rural locality in the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It neighbours Moerewa to the east, with the nearest major town, Kawakawa a few kilometres further eastwards. Other nearby localities include Pokapu to the south, Orauta to the west, and Hupara to the north.
The Rotorua Branch is a railway line from Putāruru to Rotorua, in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Construction of the line was commenced by the Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Company and finished by the Public Works Department (PWD). The complete line, 50.5 kilometres (31.4 mi) in length, opened in two sections; on 24 November 1893 to Tārukenga and the final 8 mi 43 ch (13.7 km) to Rotorua on 8 December 1894.
The Thames Branch railway line connected Thames, New Zealand, with Hamilton and was originally part of the East Coast Main Trunk railway. Part of the line between Morrinsville and Waitoa remains open and is in use as the Waitoa Branch line, connecting to the Fonterra Dairy Factory at Waitoa.
