TranzAlpine Christchurch

We left early in the morning from our motel in Christchurch. Canterbury shuttles provides a complimentary drop to the station from all motels and our front desk arranged one for us

We caught the bus at 2pm for our 3 hour ride to Greymouth. We were ending up going back on ourselves, but it was purely so that we could catch our Tranz Alpine Train from here over to Christchurch. There is no direct route from Franz to Christhurch, because the Alps run down between the middle.
We stayed in a gorgeous YHA hostel, that seemed …

We wandered over to the Train station for about 1pm. We checked in our backpacks, and wasted some time in the souvenir shop before boarding the train. At 1.45 the train pulled out of the station and we headed on our 3 3/4 hour journey to Christchurch. Everyone we had spoken to had told us what a beautiful journey it is, especially since there had …

Dejamos el coche para pasar a coger trenes en nuestros últimos días en la isla sur y el ferry para llegar a la isla norte …

Today started pretty sweetly; all these hostels we're staying in are very posh and have lovely hot showers, as well as providing free towels. That's not interesting, just an observation. We made our way to the end of the driveway of the Jailhouse hostel to wait for the FREE shuttle bus to the train station. There was a gaggle of Japanese hipster …

So after a very uneventful morning of having breakfast, dropping the car off and going for a walk to New World (Supermarket) to pick up some snacks for the journey and also to kill some time, at lunchtime Hazel and I got on the train and headed towards Christchurch.

The journey was just as good as it was last time I did it except the …

We got away from Franz Joseph in good time and set off on the drive to Greymouth up the west coast. It was a very pleasant drive and we were making good time, but there are so many lovely places along the way to attract your attention.

We stopped briefly at Ross, the old gold mining centre. It is so quaint and interesting, a fascinating …

Rise and SHINE!!!! We have a train to catch!!!!

We had a complimentary ride from the motel to the train station at half past 7. Within 10 mins, we were at the station, ready to board the Transalpine train to the WESTCOAST, Greymouth to be exact. So, time for a short info… Transalpine train in NZ is one of the MOST SCENIC train rides …

TranzAlpine ...

... Said 'Gosh!' more times in two weeks than in two years Met and had a pleasant conversation with the 'City Host' of Christchurch Plummeted forwards and backwards high over the rainforest on the longest 'flying fox' in the world, with open eyes (some ...

... 25th. The plan as of now is to check out queenstown, do the glacier walk in franz joseph, take the tranzalpine railway from greymouth to christchurch (which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful routes in the world), see the sights in ...

... today, just caught up with emaily things did my laundry and watched lots of films. Mike and Lorraine left today to head to Christchurch which is a shame as they were lovely people but it was understandable as there isn't really a whole lot to keep you ...

... komiek (zoals zoveel Kiwi's) dus ik heb me uitstekend gemaakt. Om 13.15 waren we in Greymouth, waar de Tranzalpine-trein een halfuur later vertrok, naar Christchurch aan de oostkust. Zou zo'n 4,5 uur duren, de Southern Alps door. Vroeger was dit vaak de ...

Die schoenen Tage in Tekapo sind nun endgueltig vorbei! Bin gestern in den Bus gestiegen und weiter nach Christchurch gefahren, zusammen mit (nur) einem weiteren Passagier! Wir fahren nach Christchurch rein - ich wach von meinem kleinen ...

... so we booked in for an inspection and tour. Our second day in Christchurch and we were booked on the Tranzalpine express. The journey from Christchurch on the east coast to Greymouth on the west coast was described as one of the greatest train journeys ...

... but right now I am just mega confused. So like I said I haven't really done a whole lot just stuff that involved mooching around Christchurch again, but other than that the only thing I have done is to let Tara cut my hair. I don't know why I was ...

... hat. Mitm Bierchen in der Hand (in Neuseeland verboten in der Oeffentlichkeit!) macht sich das natuerlich noch viel besser :-) Daraufhin zur Christchurch Art Gallery, wo auch ein Orchester gespielt hat und ein netter Markt war. Dort hab ich mir mal zur ...

... so it took a while before the stunning scenery hit me. This is the route that the TranzAlpine rail journey roughly follows from Greymouth to Christchurch and I traversed the rail line several times en route. The area is substantially more rugged than ...