THE TRANSALPINE

We left Christchurch early one morning on the Transalpine train that runs from Christchurch to Greymouth, via Arthur's pass.It is one of the great train journeys of the world.

Again we were blessed with lovely weather so we were lucky enough to see the amazing views on offer. The four and a half hour journey begins near the Pacific Ocean and ends by the Tasman Sea. There are a bewildering variety of scenes along the way.
Thankfully we could use a couple of outside viewing carriages to get good photographs.But you had to wrap up warm because there was an icy wind blowing. It took me a while to get used to the timing of getting to the carriages though. Everytime I saw a stretch that I wanted to take photographs of, I took so long to get my jacket on and get to the outside viewing carriage, we had passed it and I only had the tree lined sections to photograph!! But I got better and managed to catch some good images.

Although they do not really convey the beauty of what we saw. The train sped past the foothills of the southern alps ,then it entered a labyrinth of gorges and hills , known as the staircase. It emerges from tunnels into valleys where the vistas are out of this world.
At Arthur's pass it travels though a tunnel that is eight and a half km long.
Finally it passes lake Brunner ,which is fringed with cabbage trees, before arriving in Greymouth at around one o clock in the afternoon. I am not really a train person but I am so glad that I did this journey.
From Greymouth we got the bus to Franz Josef.
The bus drivers here in New Zealand are fantastic. They give you a guided tour as they make their way around this beautiful country. They seem so proud of their surroundings that they want everyone to get the most from it. They tell you all the facts about the history of the places you see around you. Often pointing out key things you may otherwise not notice.
We got a clear view of Mount Cook in the distance(He said that we were lucky, because the peak was in full view. Apparently it spends most of its time hidden behind clouds at this time of year!)Mount Cook at 3755m is the highest peak in Australasia.It was named after Captain Janes Cook.

It is also no trouble for them to stop at the best vantage points for photographs. This way the journey goes quickly and you get to see areas you would otherwise have roared past on the bus trip. But dispite their willingness to impart information there will always be those who were out partying until all hours, who prefer to sleep their way on the buses around New Zealand ,whatever the hour, and I think that is such a waste!! but hey ho , each to their own!..

When we arrived in Franz Josef it was very very cold, but thankfully they had a large open fire at the hostel and free saunas, so we did the usual.... Sauna, eat then slob by the fire...heaven!

Anyway we needed the rest, because tomorrow we were doing the Franz Josef eight hour Glacier climb!!