TranzAlpine Railway Journey

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Geo: -40.9006, 174.886

One of the highlights of visiting Christchurch is to take the TranzAlpine train from Christchurch to Greymouth and that was what we did on 9th May. The journey went through some amazing scenery – towering, majestic mountains and vertigo-inducing river gorges. The three-and-a-half-hour journey to Moana was one fabulous view after another. The highest point is Arthur's Pass. At 739 m, it was the highest railway station in South Island. We passed some tiny settlements along the way, where in some places, the total population was fewer than 50. All of them were pretty cut off, especially in winter. Many of the settlements sprang up with the construction of the steam railway at the beginning of the 20th century which provided employment for engineers and repair workmen. But with the passing of steam engines, the workmen moved away leaving a few hardy farmers and a couple of hoteliers who cater to the hikers and trampers. The train also went through the 8.5 km long Otira Tunnel which had a gradient of 1:33. Once out of the tunnel we found ourselves on the other side of the Southern Alps and into the Westlands. This part of the island had more rain and so the landscape was much greener.

The train was designed with tourists in mind so the seats are angled so that everyone has a good view out of the windows and there are two open-sided viewing platforms. Here we could see the mountains and rivers without glass and reflections, and also have lungfuls of crisp, fresh alpine air, mixed with the fumes from the locomotive!

We got off at Moana next to Lake Brunner, about an hour from the end of the line at Greymouth. This gave us time for a nice leisurely lunch and a walk around the lake before the train returned – there's only one a day !. Lake Brunner was absolutely gorgeous. In high season there would be lots of people there fishing, indulging in water sports and hiking. But as it was low season, we could enjoy the tranquillity of the surroundings, have a lovely meal overlooking the lake and walk in the woods without meeting anyone else. We could hear exotic, exciting and infinitely varying bird songs. But we did have to cross the Arnold River by walking over a wobbly hanging bridge. The feeling was probably very similar to bungee jumping...

The return journey was equally spectacular especially when some of the views were covered by clouds on the way there were now visible.

All in all it was one of the best train journeys we have ever taken and it definitely beats the 8:02 First Capital Connect between South Merton and St Pancras International !

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Comments

[Antony]

"Sigh"...