Today my new thing was to take the Tranzalpine Express from Christchurch to Greymouth and back again.
The train is part of the Kiwi Scenic Railway, and travels from Christchurch on the East Coast, through mountains across to Greymouth, a small town on the West Coast. The journey takes around 4 and a half hours one way.
The scenery on route is absolutely stunning. The photos featured here really don’t do it justice. I was lucky that there was snow on the mountains, and while the weather was icy cold, it was great to stand in the viewing carriage and take some photos of the landscape as it shot by.
Greymouth itself was…grey. I only had an hour to explore, but what I saw was enough. Perhaps there is more to Greymouth than a sewage filled waterway and a Countdown, but in that short hour I didn’t experience it!
The train is really comfy, and the buffet cart is very reasonably priced, although, of course I took my packed lunch with me! The train stops at a place called Arthur’s Pass, a national park with lots of walking routes, which is definitely something I’d like to experience another time.
The tickets are pretty pricey – staring at $119 one way off season, but I would definitely recommend experiencing this, especially if you want to travel from Christchurch to Fox Glacier, which is easy to do from Greymouth.
Not a cheap experience, but very pretty – 4 out of 5 stars
Grumpy Bunty 