Arthurs Pass... and a Jet Boat!

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Collected from the hotel at 7.45am for an hours drive across the Canterbury Plains to Springfield Station where we boarded the Tranzalpine Train.

The train travels across the southern alps - ultimate destination is Greymouth on the West Coast. However - we disembarked at Arthurs Pass (after approximately 1.5hrs of travelling) - which is the highest station on the route. The views are breathtaking - mountains, rivers and gorges.

From Arthurs Pass we travelled half an hour further west by road to Otira (a very small huddle of houses - which was historically a settlement of those who built the railway back in the 1800's). Again - breathtaking views - and able to see far more from the coach than the train. Waterfalls and impressive engineering as the road wound around the Alps, across viaducts and weaved a few hair-pin bends!

Back to Arthurs Pass for lunch at the Wobbly Kea... huge portions and all fresh, healthy produce (which seems to be the norm for NZ). As we left we spotted our first real-life Kea's (parrots) - which are a beautiful deep green colour, with a red/orange flash from underneath as they fly). Very curious birds - and similar size to a large crow.

Heading back east by coach we stopped at Kowai Bush - a sheep and cattle farm run by Trevor & Heather. However - before the farm we took a trip on the Waimakariri River by Jet Boat...... which was BRILLIANT! A real adrenallin rush as we jetted inches from the river-cliff walls and the exposed pebble ridges of the river bed - and did 360 spins. The water was crystal clear, very cold (as it flows from the snow and glaciers in the Alps) and varied from 6 inches to 5 ft deep. A wonderful experience - and brilliant way to see the scenery from a new angle.

Back at the farm we had a sheepdog and sheep shearing demo - which were really interesting, and a description of farming in NZ. The farm totals 160 hectares (and these people are semi retired!).

A fascinating day - and well worth fighting the jet-lag for!

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