Arapuni to Putaruru: Coffee, Convoys, and a Cracking Museum Stop

The regular team plus some new members assembled at the Rhubarb Café in Arapuni in somewhat miserable weather where, as usual, the coffee and service at the Rhubarb was great.

After coffee we convoyed at a leisurely pace along Lake Arapuni to Lichfield then by SH1 to the NZ Timber Museum and Trainworld just south of Putaruru. It is one of these places we have all driven past many times without stopping but this museum has a great collection of forestry and timber related artifacts and Trainworld is the largest model railway setup in NZ.

A corner of the Trainworld shed which houses a number of model railway inspired installations.

Whilst things related to timber and forestry are the primary focus of the museum it also includes a large collection of taxidermized animals from ferrets to the first moose shot in NZ, vehicles, and furnished buildings from NZ’s early forestry environment from school to jail. Most members quickly drifted into Trainworld where the scale and fine detail of modelling is totally fascinating - and was out of the rain which had by now set in. We were all impressed by the variety and detail of interesting things on display here, and most indicated that next time passing they would revisit.

There is one MB in the truck shed but this old Pacific looked more the part. Unfortunately, our truck aficionado was not here to relish the truck shed.

Three old ex farm bodies reminiscing on when they were made to help their fathers work one of these crosscut saws (many years ago)

Mandatory participation photo beside two unique electric bikes built and ridden by a couple from Tokoroa. The red machine held the electric bike world land speed record for a number of years at 434km/hr with a lady rider.

We could all have stayed much longer at the museum but the need for further nourishment overcame so we moved on to the Wooden Farmer in Putaruru for lunch. The food was mediocre but conversation around the table was lively and made for another good day out despite the weather.

Run organisers: Kate & Roger Burchett
Words (AI free): Roger Burchett
Photos: Gary Lewis