The Tranz-Alpine train

I woke to beautiful warm sunny day, perfect for a train ride from east to west. I bought a book on the interislander ferry the day before and had read 2/3’s of it so made sure I had that out with me for when I wasn't gawking out the window at the scenery and of course, finished it on the trip.

This is trip you could easily do repeatedly, or at least I could, especially when it's snowy! The train went through beautiful scenery, however, I have to admit that I'd managed to see a lot of that type of scenery already driving in the South Island. 

As mentioned in an earlier post, there wasn't a lot of difference between what you see on the train and when you're driving as I did the year before with my partner, however, it is nice to be sit back, relax and enjoy it when you’re not driving. 

I spent about an hour or so (until I couldn't feel my fingers) in the open air carriage where the air was rather fresh!  I took a few pics, many of them blurry just from the movement of the train and probably a little to do with operator error as well. Not sure how I'd go in the winter months in the open air carriage, but I'd love to try as the scenery would be spectacular with all the snow about.

The train itself is comfortable to ride in and they offer a good selection of choices from the menu. I can recommend the cheese board and the ice creams they bring around about half an hour before the train arrives in Greymouth are locally made and delicious.

There is a brief stop at Arthur's Pass where you can get out and stretch your legs for 10-15 minutes and another a little further along at Moana if you want to stop for a picnic, then catch the return train on it's way through about an hour or so later.

For those interested in engineering, there are some pretty cool things to look at with viaducts, bridges, rock shelters and waterfalls channeled into chutes along the way.

 The train took about 4.5 hours and although I was a little tired from the last couple of days travel, I was glad I'd gone on the train as it gave me the chance to enjoy the scenery without the driving for a change.

On my arrival in Greymouth, I picked up another hire car which again wasn’t what I’d ordered but this time it was disappointing rather than the excitement of an upgrade! I’d specifically requested a 4WD - Holden Trax or Toyota RAV 4. Alas it was a Toyota Corolla Wagon which they told me was ‘similar’. Not quite sure how it was similar to a 4WD, however, apparently it was and they'd included snow chains in the boot for free in case I needed them. 

Unfortunately, they didn’t have any alternatives on offer so I had to get over it and suck it up. They were also going to charge me more than my quote and luckily, I'm in the habit of printing everything I might need before I travel (Yes, I know, some might say a little OCD) so they were able to photocopy it. As it turned out, they ended up deducting an extra $100. I have to say despite all the hiccups with my car bookings on this trip, the hire car company was excellent and did their best in each place to rectify whatever was happening.

Car sorted, I had a wander about, took a few pics, picked up a few things from the supermarket plus some ointment to treat an infected finger that had become annoying before heading out to my accommodation which was very basic but adequate.

I got unpacked and decided to get online to send a friend a message to let them know I was ok. I learnt something new that day. I learnt that Facebook has a phone type of service.  I had no idea!  I didn't have a clue how long that had been a feature, still don't know now I come to think of it! I thought all you could do was send messages. Isn't technology wonderful?

In the meantime, I'd had a very upsetting contact with someone back home and decided I needed to do something so things didn’t overwhelm me anymore than they already were. On the spur of the moment, I decided to leave where I was staying and go to Franz Josef instead. 

I packed up the car again, went to hand in key and apologise, just saying plans had suddenly changed, then promptly burst into tears!! Such a girly thing to do! The woman at the motel was lovely, came straight round and gave me a hug, told me not to worry, things would be ok.  

So I drove. And tried not to think. And drove faster than I should have. I made it to Franz Josef in 2.5 hours or just under with no stops. I even missed the turn off and had to ask for directions, then backtrack about 5 kms. Alas, I've been known on occasions to accidentally take the scenic route, however, night time isn't really a time that I'd choose to do that!

Eventually I found the place I was going to stay around 8.30pm. I quickly got sorted and went back into town to find some dinner. If you're ever in Franz Josef, I can highly recommend King Tiger for delicious Thai Food and a great atmosphere. My plans for dinner, a long hot shower and bed were all checked off.

I slept reasonably well and was awake earlier than I wanted to be, so got up for a little while and had a hot chocolate before going back to bed for a couple of hours. I've noticed a lot of the accommodation places in the southern alps region provide hot chocolate and they are little sachets of absolute deliciousness! 

Given it was raining, I decided not to rush that morning and enjoyed another warm shower to wake up. Have to say it was great having a shower with decent water pressure! 

When I checked out just before 9am, the gentleman at the motel saw me come out the door of my cabin/unit (reception was opposite) and came out to say good morning, then helped put my bags in the car. 

He asked where I was going that day and when I told him Wanaka, he said it would be good to be on the road soon because a big storm was coming through around midday. People are so friendly and helpful over here, it's one of the things I love about the place!

I had wanted to go to the Wildlife Centre and see the kiwi’s, however, they told me they weren’t open until 9am so I decided to leave it for another time and got on the road instead. I was thankful I'd chosen to get moving at a reasonable time because the weather was pretty crappy the whole way and rained the majority of the drive.  

I managed a couple of stops and as always, got more excited the closer I got to Wanaka! It's like coming home every time I go there.

Well that's it from me for this post. I'd like to acknowledge that not all of the pics in this post are mine, some are from Mr Google.