Trains! I love them. From childhood I have been thrilled with train journeys. So, there was no way I was going to miss this TransAlpine adventure. So, I set out early one Monday morning from Christchurch, shrouded in low clouds, across the Canterbury Plains, through the Southern Alps, and to Greymouth on the Tasman Sea.
The Canterbury Plains
We remember the sheep stations!
Train life started with the company of twenty school children and their teachers on their way to a camping trip at Arthur's Pass. Even if the noise was unbelievable, the children's outward excitement and expressions of seeing everything from sheep to mountains and deep gorges made me smile and laugh. The wonder and delight of the children helped me see things I might have missed.
The viewing deck
The outdoor viewing deck from the train. Cold, crowded, swaying as we travelled coast to coast through 19 tunnels, over one of the highest viaducts over the Whanganui River/Gorge, and down the "Staircase" at 73 Metres.
The children piled out of the train at Arthur's Pass.
A Parish Church with a view above the altar of a waterfall flowing like a ribbon
down the mountain
Arthur's Pass is high in the Southern Alps on the ways to the west coast and the Tasman Sea. This is a haven for hikers (tramping) and we who love the outdoors and mountains. On the way to Greymouth the train followed the steep gorge of the Whanganui River, a challenge for kayak enthusiasts.
The wild flowers and bright red flowering trees were stunning on the hills. No pictures through the window of a moving train could do them justice.
Greymouth: Where rivers meet the sea
At 1:00 pm we arrived at Greymouth and I took a long walk along the esplanade and had my first glimpse of the Tasman Sea.
From the South pacific Ocean to the Tasman Sea, and back again, I travelled that one memorable Monday. Once again, with joy of the curious pilgrim to see the land loved by a nation, not my own.
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