New Zealand's only narrow-gauge mountain railway along with a working pottery and wild life sanctuary.

Driving Creek Railway & Potteries is located just out of Coromandel Town in the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula.

The 1 hour return trip on our innovatively designed trains takes you through replanted native kauri forest and includes 2 spirals, 3 short tunnels, 5 reversing points and several large viaducts as it climbs up to the mountain-top terminus.

Called the Eyefull Tower, this handsome new building offers great panoramic views out over the island-studded Hauraki Gulf with the forested valley and mountains behind.

Track laying began in 1975 by Barry Brickell shortly after he established the pottery workshop on a corner of the 22Ha block-of land he had recently purchased. As a railway enthusiast he saw the practical and environmental advantages of having a narrow-gauge railway system through his rugged scrub-covered land to give all weather access to clay and pine wood kiln fuel.

The scattered pine trees are self-sown from original pines planted by the early Californian gold diggers of last century. New Zealand's first official gold discovery was made in this district in 1852. Most of the raw materials for the making of terracotta pottery garden wares, tiles and sculpture thus comes from the hills above.

Brickell worked for 15 years and poured a considerable amount of money into railway construction before it was licensed to carry fare-paying public in 1990. This huge gamble has now paid off, while returns from the pottery have been steadily diminishing. A recent move into the tile and brickmaking industry is an exciting new development.

Today, the railway carries more passengers than raw materials because it has become a major and unique tourist attraction. Unlike most other tourist railways, the DCR is newly built rather than being an old, line that has been restored. It is New Zealand's only narrow-gauge mountain railway. All earlier railways built to convey minerals and timber have been abandoned, some now made into heritage trails.