At Driving Creek Railway we are driven by the need to restore the land and its uniquely magnificent indigenous kauri forests. The early British colonists and colonial governments strove to replace forest with farm land for economic survival, but the price was very high by ecological standards. Vast areas of magnificent native forest were wantonly destroyed.

Proceeds from the railway fund this huge conservation scheme to replace the native forest cover and arrest soil erosion for all time.

As exotic, fast growing, invasive pines are removed and transported as kiln fuel down the railway, we use the railway to deliver young native trees back up into the hills for planting.

We are restoring the magnificent kauri forests that grew here before their exploitation for timber and subsequent elimination by land-clearing farmer-driven fires.

An old pine tree is put to good use and is being “chain-saw milled” to make large table-top slabs ready for use in the complex. It will be replaced with native trees, protected in perpetuity by a QEII covenant on the land title.