August
26th August. The TranzAlpine Train
Today, as I've been promising for a while now, we went on a train journey across the southern alps to Greymouth on the western coast of the south island. What a spectacular trip. It cost $99 per adult and was well worth it.
The train set off at 8:15 am from Christchurch station in Addington although we needed to be there 20 minutes earlier to check in. The carriages are very comfortable, especially if you are in a group of four since the seats are arranged in groups of four around a central table. We had a fairly regular commentary along the way. An excellent live commentary was provided by the train manager. Places of historical interest were pointed out and local legends and yarns were expounded during the four and half hour journey.
There was an outdoor viewing carriage for the photographers willing to brave the cold. You'll notice that most of mine were taken through the train windows in the nice, warm, closed in carriages.Sorry about the occasional reflections. The best ones were, of course, taken by Marisa who did brave the outdoor carriage on a couple of occasions.
Our first stop was Rolleston, to pick up extra passengers. It was an extraordinarily clear day and the alps were already visible. Later we stopped briefly at Springfield before climbing up towards Arthur's Pass.
Along the way the train passed through a number of short tunnels beaking out over incredible views of the Waimakariri river valley.
Unfortunately photography was difficult there. It seemed whenever Marisa attempted to take a shot of the river spread out below the train would punge into yet another tunnel.As a result we failed to get any good shots of the spectacular Waimakariri far below the train.
We stopped briefly at Arthur's Pass aproximately 750 metres above sea level.. Unfortunately there was not enough time to investigate the chapel. I have been told by a reader of this blog that I should do this at some stage so I have become curious.
Arthur's Pass was typically cold, puddles of ice sat beside the rails and icicles decorated waterfalls as we headed towards an eight kilometre tunnel through Otira Gorge. To reduce diesel fumes the viewing platform and cafe car are closed during travel through the tunnel. As impressive as this tunnel is as an early twentieth century engineering feat it is also a shame to miss the spectacle of Otira Gorge.
Once we left the tunnel we travelled through the small town of Otira (population 45) and were officially in Westland. This is a nice place to visit but a little trying to live in I imagine. The yearly rainfall is six and a half metres and the shortest day of the year, because of the high mountains, has just two hours of daylight.
One of the most impressive views onthe trip is of the mountains and Lake Brunner as the train travels through Moana.
This beautiful place has quite captured my heart and I am determined to come and spend some time here. Perhaps a weekend of scenic boating and fishing is in order. According to the train manager, there are eels in the streams around here, so big that they must reverse into Lake Brunner just to turn around.
On the way to Greymouth the forest seemed to take on a more primitive feel with more ferns and palms on the hillsides. The train passed through the historic Brunner coal mining area, famous for a mine explosion that killed 65 men and boys in 1896 Apparently the area was once an industrial nightmare landscape but thanks to the rain fall and rich earth the hillsides have completely recovered.
At one o'clock the train pulled into Greymouth, at the mouth of the Grey river. with no sign of the wind that the locals call "The Barber". Apparently the wind has this name because it is so sharp it can cut your throat. The day was fine and calm.
The train station sits on the main street of Greymouth so we went in search of a cafe to have lunch. We only had around 40 minutes here so we had a quick bite to eat and then went for a short walk down to the flood banks where we could just catch a glimpse of the ocean as we looked along the river.
We then popped into a local gallery to have a look at the greenstone (jade) jewellry on display. This particular gallery had two jade boulders on the shop floor.
Green stone is very important to Maori. Their weapons, tools, jewellry and even fish hooks were carved out of it. Its single biggest use today is to satisfy the tourist demand for Tikis or some other memento of New Zealand.
Our time was soon up and we headed back to the station to check in for the journey home. To our delight we found that our seets were on the opposite side of the train so we would have different views on the return journey.
I spent more time listening to the commentary on the return journey. Apart from some fascinating tidbits of history I also learned of a pie eating dog called Rosie. I won't spoil the story. You'll have to take the journey for yourself to hear it. You will also get the opportunity to hear the TranzAlpine Waltz.
As we passed through Arthur's Pass the sky began to turn grey and snow closed in on the mountains behind us as we descended on the Cantebury Plains. We arrived back in Christchurch at 6:05pm just as it started to rain.
It was another spectacular day in New Zealand. I would recommend this trip to anyone with just a day or two to spend in the South Island.
Now I know that many of you will be expecting large versions of teh pictures presented here so I have provided them. For most of the photos here, you can click on the picture here to get the full size image.
If you enjoyed this journey please feel free to leave comments on our feedback page. I suspect our next trip will be another jaunt to Lake Tekapo to see it in the winter.
--Brook
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