Trans Alpine Railway

Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Saturday, December 7, 2013

The day began early, accompanied by sheeting rain once more. We had a two hour plus drive to Greymouth and decided to give ourselves plenty of time, what with the weather conditions and of course Saturday traffic. We drove the first 50 miles without seeing another car, so much for the weekend rush! Approaching Greymouth we stopped for a brunch in a small coastal town that had seen its heyday in the gold mining rush of the 1850s. It was stuffed full of grandiose victorian architecture, but appeared to be a ghost town. It was by now 10.45 and I counted 3 people in the Main Street. We were amazed. The rain finally eased as we ran into Greymouth, which is aptly named and I'll say no more. We hit it in the middle of the Christmas Parade. Christmas? What is that?? I'm just relieved we were early, as half the the roads were shut for the parade and the railway station would have unreachable a half an hour later. Yet again we were surrounded by bagpipes and guys in full highland dress.
We were booked onto the Trans Alpine Express from Greymouth to Christchurch this afternoon. It was a spectacular journey up and over the mountainous divide and through Arthur's Pass. We passed high alpine meadows, deep glacial gorges, mountains galore snow topped, wildlife of all sorts and enough farming country to keep Reg amused for months. The trip takes 4 hours, but is attention grabbing the whole way. The weather improved the minute we were over the Great Divide and by the time we reached Christchurch, the sun was shining once more and the sky was blue.
An interesting happening late on, which made PLs day. You might know a complaint or two was in the frame. We collected a new hire car at Christchurch station, or tried to, only to find that the manager of the hire car firm had gone to a Christmas party with the keys in his pocket. He then failed to bring them back in person - big mistake, as the company have already asked us to complete a customer service survey at the end of the trip. Should make interesting reading!
This evening we had a Bon Voyage meal, as Geraldine and Reg depart for their journey home early tomorrow morning. We shall miss you dear friends. What a marvellous five weeks we've had!Read more