Tranz Scenic Railway

Trip Start Jun 13, 2006
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Trip End Jul 04, 2006


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Flag of New Zealand  ,
Wednesday, June 21, 2006

One of the strange things about both Australia & New Zealand is the lack of public transport & particularly trains compared to home. Trains are just something we take for granted in Europe. There are only 3 train routes in New Zealand each running once a day in each direction - image that being able to easily count the no of trains! (Maybe it's just me.)

Anyway I couldn't resist the opportunity to break up my bus trips with a train journey - & not just any one at that. The Tranz Scenic Railway ruins from Greymouth on the West Coast to Christchurch on the East Coast (and vv). The journey takes about 4 hours & is apparently one of the top 6 scenic train journeys in the world!!

To get from coast to coast the train has to travel through the snowy Southern Alps giving excellent views over lakes, rivers, forest & mountains It's snowing!
It's snowing!
 . Also, at this time of year, lots of snow.

When I started the journey the weather was fine & sunny on the west coast & it continued like this for the first hour or so. When i went through the tunnel & out the other side of the mountains it was a completely different story - snow falls & heaps of it on the ground - everyone got off the train to throw snow balls & take pics. The main downside to travelling on a scenic train in the afternoon in the winter is that it gets dark early & all you can see is the black sky - not many street lights in the middle of nowhere!

I finished the journey convinced, once more, that trains beat buses anytime. However, daylight always helps with admiring the scenery!
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