By the end of my trip I’ll have done 3 out of 4 of these Great Journeys of New Zealand.
Right now I’m at Picton Railway station for my first train journey. I’m taking the Coastal Pacific as I head from Picton down the east coast to Christchurch.
It’s a six hour journey, but on a very comfortable train with extra high windows to take in the views. The scenery changes quite drastically as we move along. We pass through dry looking hills…
Salt flats….
And the ocean….
The train passes through Kaikoura which is a popular spot and quite a few people get off but I don’t have time on this visit, maybe next time.
It’s hard to capture the beauty of the scenery as we speed through the countryside but it is fabulous and the weather is great so we see it in all its glory. We reach Christchurch at 8:30pm and wind and rain has set in. It’s straight to the hotel for a nights sleep, with a gale blowing outside.
Next morning it’s time for my next train journey. This time the TranzAlpine which is considered one of the world’s most scenic train journeys. It’s fairly flat as we leave the Christchurch area.
The train will travel north west across the country from the Pacific Ocean to the Tasman Sea. There are many bridges but again it’s hard to capture a good snap.
There’s a great mountain range to cross so a cavalcade of tunnels and viaducts takes us up through the Southern Alps and to Arthur’s Pass. The train moves quite slow in a lot of places like it’s struggling to keep travelling up! Just before arrival at Arthur’s pass the train operator announces we are about to go through the 8.5km Otira tunnel. [side note: the population of Otira is 45 people!] The dining cart is closed, the viewing carriage at the front of the train is closed and everyone is asked to stay in their seats while we go through the tunnel… I found that a bit peculiar. Anyways of course I do what I’m told and end up dozing off before we reach the end! The train stops for 5 minutes up here so we can get out on the platform.
From here it’s all downhill (literally) and the weather is still rainy and a bit dull. The scenery is not as impressive as we’re led to believe it is on a sunny day. The clouds are making things quite grey.
It’s still a great train journey though and soon enough we’re in Greymouth. I pick up a rental car here. The rental car offices are chocker block for about an hour after the train arrives and then they’re all quiet again. It’s a bit of a queue but everyone is in good form and excited to be on the west coast and about to embark on another adventure. It’s about a three hour drive south to Franz Josef but I’ve decided before heading there I’m going to head north to see the Pancake rocks. It’s a windy road along a beautiful coastline which obviously I can’t photograph as I’m driving!
The coastline reminds me of the 12 apostles on the Great Ocean Road. One big difference is the colours though. On the Great Ocean Road the water was so blue against the yellow rocks, the bright sunshine helped I’m sure. Here, the water is completely white as the sea is so rough all the way along the forty odd kilometers north.
I get to the Pancake rocks and I’m delighted I made the extra journey. They’re literally just off the highway and they’re cool…..
I didn’t know what to expect but I’m really impressed. There’s a 15 minute loop walk and these layered rocks are everywhere. There are also blow holes with the water shooting up through the rocks.
I don’t spend too long as I want to get on the road. There ares signs all over the main roads in NZ saying “NZ roads are different” and they’re right, everything takes a little longer whether it’s due to weather conditions or road works because of roads being messed up from previous storms, floods etc…. As I start to head south toward Franz Josef a little animal ran across the road in front of my car and I realised later it’s a stoat. Apparently they’re one of the kiwi birds biggest predators. He’s lucky I didn’t run him over.
odohertyelaine 