Monday 8 May 2017

Manawatu Gorge, New Zealand

Another way overdue post... I don't think I'll be back to updating this blog regularly anymore, I have tried and failed too many times, but I'll try to do it occasionally. I have just been too busy and/or other things have taken priority. I got reminded about updating a few days ago when I had a nice email from Jacob, asking for a swap. It certainly cheered me up, although I'm a little confused that apparently someone still reads this blog :O ...so I thought I'd update briefly again and picked a couple of random cards from my pile of cards that I've been wanting to write about. The first one is from a Postcrossing forum RR from last year.


The Manawatu Gorge (in Māori Te Apiti, meaning "The Narrow Passage") runs for 6-9 km between the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges in the south part of the North Island of New Zealand, linking the Manawatu and Hawke's Bay regions. It lies to the northeast of Palmerston North. Its western end is near the small town of Ashhurst, its eastern end is close to the town of Woodville.

The Manawatu Gorge is significant because, unlike most gorges, the Manawatu River is a water gap, that is it runs directly through the surrounding ranges from one side to the other. This was caused by the ranges moving upwards at the same time as the gorge was eroded by the river, instead of the more usual erosion of an already existing range.

The Manawatu River is the only river in New Zealand that starts its journey on one side of the main divide and finishes it on the other side.

 A single track rail connection was established on the northern side of the gorge; it was completed in 1891 and is now part of the Palmerston North – Gisborne Line. The rail connection is mainly used by goods trains; there are currently no scheduled passenger rail services through the gorge. Occasional railway excursions, typically with steam trains, also make use of the scenic Manawatu Gorge Railway line with its two tunnels and several small bridges.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

This is really a great card
Keren Stamps

Unknown said...

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