The Dun Mountain Railway was built in 1862 to carry Copper and Chromite 21.5 Km from the hills to the port of Nelson, and is arguably one of the earliest rail lines in the country. It used horses to pull the wagons along the track, and carried passengers within the city portion of the track.
We thought that the walk would be fairly flat but it actually climbed continuously from the Tantragee Saddle to Cummins Spur. The track passed through Pine forest, native bush and some clear-cut areas, and thankfully was largely shaded from the morning sun.
About an hour into the walk we reached Bullock Spur, which provided great views of Nelson, the port and Tasman Bay, and a very welcome picnic table, to take the weight off for a few minutes.
From Bullock Spur we continued up for another 30 minutes, reaching Cummins Spur a little earlier than anticipated.
From Cummins Spur there were many options for further hikes, and our planned 30 minute route down to Brook Street, but seeing the path down, and not wanting to walk several kilometres along Brook Street, we opted to walk back the way we came, making the walk a little longer, but much more pleasant. We ate lunch on the picnic table at Bullock Spur, knowing that it was all downhill from there.
Today was not a record for the distance travelled, but the 1260 ft. of elevation gain was a new 2015 record for elevation.
I am almost looking forward to rain tomorrow.
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