The TransAlpine Railway
The drive from Nelson to Greymouth starts off reasonably flat and straight-ish, but it quickly becomes more like what we have become accustomed to. This is another drive through the mountains with sharp, narrow, winding roads with precipitous dropoffs at every turn. Because we were trying to catch the 1:45 train in Greymouth, and we weren't certain how long it would take to make the drive, we were on the road at 8:10 Sunday morning, and there was almost no traffic for much of the journey.
Because of the lack of oncoming traffic, and in particular the almost complete absence of transport trucks, the drive was quite enjoyable for both of us, and the scenery was beautiful.
We arrived in Greymouth in plenty of time, so we set to arranging our rail tickets before getting some lunch. We were able to get seats on the TransAlpine for the sunday trip to Christchurch, but unfortunately, the Tuesday trip back was completely booked. This put a kink in our plans as we did not relish the thought of coming back immendately Monday morning. The helpful attendant suggested we talk to the Avis rep in the train terminal to see if we could arrange an exchange of vehicles in Christchurch.
The thought of an early car dropoff had not occurred to us, but once we got there, everything fell into place for us, itinerary-wise. We arranged with the Avis person to take our rental in Greymouth with no penalty. We then booked the TransAlpine train trip for Sunday afternoon, and the TransCoastal train trip for Tuesday morning, which would take us conveniently from Christchurch to Picton where we need to be to catch the ferry on Wednesday. We also booked a hotel in Christchurch from the tourist desk in Greymouth.
We still had a bit of time after filling the car gas tank and re-packing our luggage, so we stopped for lunch. Here's a tip for North American travellers in NZ. A bacon burger has no ground beef in it. It is a big whack of bacon between two buns. Mine also had cheese, lettuce, and blueberries in it. This is the main drag in Greymouth.
The TransAlpine rail journey takes you from Greymouth on the west coast of the south island, over the southern alps to Christchurch on the east coast. The trip involves several tunnels and bridges and a stop at Arthurs Pass. It was strongly recommended in all of the guide books we had consulted, and we were not disappointed. The scenery was spectacular and the rail travel quite civilized. We took a lot of pics, so I'll just plunk a few of them here to give you a taste. Many of the pictures were taken through the windows, so there is a reflection of the interior of the carriage in some of these.
On the west side of the mountain range, we passed a few lakes
and some beautiful valleys
The train zips along some pretty untamed areas, and the vegetation literally brushes the side of the carriages. This shot is pretty tame but I wasn't reaching out to take a picture when the brush was that close.
This is approaching one of the many bridges and tunnels (all in one convenient photo)
Here is Debbie watching the mountains go by
A few shots taken at Arthur's Pass
Our seats ...
... were located right next to the snack/bar counter. The lines were pretty long at times
On the east side of the pass the terrain got quite a bit drier. Here is a stream passing through - when it rains it becomes quite a flood apparently
There is a viewing car on the train where one can go to get a lung full of diesel fumes while watching the scenery go by. Debbie ...
... went for a look.
We finally saw some of the famed multitudes of sheep. In all our travels through the north island and the little bit of the south island we saw, we only rarely saw sheep. Most fields were full of cattle - there are a LOT of cows here! But sheep? Not so much.
On the western half of the TransAlpine, we did finally see numerous fields of sheep. Notice the large hedges. They are apparently planted to provide a wind break. The one on the left has got to be 20 feet high and it has been trimmed!
Here is a closer view of the hedges. I would love to see the machine they use to trim these puppies (both the sides and the top have been groomed).
At the end of the rail journey (about 4 1/2 hours) an inexpensive shuttle van took us from the train station to our hotel. We settled in, and then set out in search of dinner. A short walk brought us to the Cathedral Square area of downtown Christchurch. We walked a while around the surrounding streets, and then settled on a streetfront cafe for a not bad, but not great dinner.
By this time, it was pretty late, and because of the early start, we were pretty bagged. A little TV and reading finished off the day.
Because of the lack of oncoming traffic, and in particular the almost complete absence of transport trucks, the drive was quite enjoyable for both of us, and the scenery was beautiful.
We arrived in Greymouth in plenty of time, so we set to arranging our rail tickets before getting some lunch. We were able to get seats on the TransAlpine for the sunday trip to Christchurch, but unfortunately, the Tuesday trip back was completely booked. This put a kink in our plans as we did not relish the thought of coming back immendately Monday morning. The helpful attendant suggested we talk to the Avis rep in the train terminal to see if we could arrange an exchange of vehicles in Christchurch.
The thought of an early car dropoff had not occurred to us, but once we got there, everything fell into place for us, itinerary-wise. We arranged with the Avis person to take our rental in Greymouth with no penalty. We then booked the TransAlpine train trip for Sunday afternoon, and the TransCoastal train trip for Tuesday morning, which would take us conveniently from Christchurch to Picton where we need to be to catch the ferry on Wednesday. We also booked a hotel in Christchurch from the tourist desk in Greymouth.
We still had a bit of time after filling the car gas tank and re-packing our luggage, so we stopped for lunch. Here's a tip for North American travellers in NZ. A bacon burger has no ground beef in it. It is a big whack of bacon between two buns. Mine also had cheese, lettuce, and blueberries in it. This is the main drag in Greymouth.
The TransAlpine rail journey takes you from Greymouth on the west coast of the south island, over the southern alps to Christchurch on the east coast. The trip involves several tunnels and bridges and a stop at Arthurs Pass. It was strongly recommended in all of the guide books we had consulted, and we were not disappointed. The scenery was spectacular and the rail travel quite civilized. We took a lot of pics, so I'll just plunk a few of them here to give you a taste. Many of the pictures were taken through the windows, so there is a reflection of the interior of the carriage in some of these.
On the west side of the mountain range, we passed a few lakes
and some beautiful valleys
The train zips along some pretty untamed areas, and the vegetation literally brushes the side of the carriages. This shot is pretty tame but I wasn't reaching out to take a picture when the brush was that close.
This is approaching one of the many bridges and tunnels (all in one convenient photo)
Here is Debbie watching the mountains go by
A few shots taken at Arthur's Pass
Our seats ...
... were located right next to the snack/bar counter. The lines were pretty long at times
On the east side of the pass the terrain got quite a bit drier. Here is a stream passing through - when it rains it becomes quite a flood apparently
There is a viewing car on the train where one can go to get a lung full of diesel fumes while watching the scenery go by. Debbie ...
... went for a look.
We finally saw some of the famed multitudes of sheep. In all our travels through the north island and the little bit of the south island we saw, we only rarely saw sheep. Most fields were full of cattle - there are a LOT of cows here! But sheep? Not so much.
On the western half of the TransAlpine, we did finally see numerous fields of sheep. Notice the large hedges. They are apparently planted to provide a wind break. The one on the left has got to be 20 feet high and it has been trimmed!
Here is a closer view of the hedges. I would love to see the machine they use to trim these puppies (both the sides and the top have been groomed).
At the end of the rail journey (about 4 1/2 hours) an inexpensive shuttle van took us from the train station to our hotel. We settled in, and then set out in search of dinner. A short walk brought us to the Cathedral Square area of downtown Christchurch. We walked a while around the surrounding streets, and then settled on a streetfront cafe for a not bad, but not great dinner.
By this time, it was pretty late, and because of the early start, we were pretty bagged. A little TV and reading finished off the day.
posted by Don at
11:03 pm
2 Comments:
A bacon burger has no ground beef in it. It is a big whack of bacon between two buns.
Now I just have to visit that place!
By
Anonymous, at 5:37 am
The food and fortified beverage descriptions are getting to me - I must go in search of dinner - New Zealand lamb sounds good to me.
By
Anonymous, at 10:25 am
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