A must do!  - Bought these tickets as a Christmas prezzie for just the two of us. Was the best idea I had, other than marrying hubby, in a very long time! The lill... read more train/cart was easy to drive. The views were amazing. The entertainment was hilarious. A cuppa in the bush hut was awesome. Highly rated! And all that wildlife.chickens galore!

  Fun couple of hours driving our own train cart. Animals, scenery, bush walk, good cuppa, great people

  We had a wonderful morning out with Paul on the Awakeri rails. The ride through beautiful rural landscapes was full of charm and character. Feeding the chickens and meeting the... read more friendly Weka added plenty of fun along the way.

The forest walk was a real highlight — standing beneath the towering Kahikatea trees and mature Nikau palms was simply magical. We also loved hearing about the neighbour’s quirky gumboot fascination, which gave the experience a lovely local touch.

Paul was an excellent host, sharing fascinating stories of days gone by while serving tea, coffee, and hot chocolate with biscuits. From our 11-year-old to our 78-year-old, every one of us thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Highly recommended for families looking for something truly unique and memorable!

  We booked last minute and Paul (owner) was happy to oblige.
We shared the rail with one other group as well as Paul.
Be aware that it's self-drive, but it's... read more not 'solo-drive'.
You drive in convoy, with Paul as the lead driver to ensure safety.
This is a good thing- the carts can travel at really high speeds and there are multiple road-crossings.
We did the full tour, all 20km (there and back) of rail, plus feeding the chickens, plus the bush-walk, plus the camp-stop with tea & biscuits.
Really interesting activity, well worth spending the money and time to do so.
We took two young children, and they too loved the thrill of the ride.

  The Rail adventure was right next to where we were staying, so we thought we would give it a try. Myself and my 2 teenage daughters enjoyed driving the... read more carts over bridges and through tunnels, the scenery, the bush walk in the Kahikatea trees, and feeding the chickens.
It is a cute and quaint idea, the carts are very easy to drive and I love that it uses an existing infrastructure in a new way.
The tour guide, Paul, obviously knows his onions and is passionate about his project; I'm sure he has a lot of local knowledge and stories to tell.

However, the cringy humour, sexist and racist jokes and general bullying manner tainted the whole experience somewhat.
I don't consider myself overly sensitive and don't mind an irreverent joke but this was neither funny or smart and certainly not subtle. If your idea of a safety induction is to make people feel like idiots, then this is for you!
A little less inappropriate chat and a bit more local knowledge and history would have made for a more interesting day.
I felt like apologising to the two Russian New Zealand women who were made to feel like unwelcome tourists in their home of 17 years with Putin jokes and general buffoonery; it was embarrassing.

I have since read some of the other reviews and can see that I am not alone with these views.
Perhaps time to learn to read the room!

I am still giving 3 stars because I think it is a fun idea and could be a really enjoyable day out; I see others here have given it glowing reviews so I would still suggest trying it for yourself.