Got up real early for my 6:55am pick up from the YHA in Christchurch to head to the train station to take the Tranzalpine train!
I was so excited! Like jumping about excited!
So I dumped my bag in the luggage carriage and headed to my seat. I was very lucky and got 2 seats to myself so I got a window seat, nice.
At 8:15am we were off.
Unfortunately, the day was super drizzly in the morning so it was pretty hard to see anything in the beginning. You’re provided with headphones, as there’s a commentary the whole way about the mountains and the surrounding land, the history and its purpose.
By the time we hit the mountains, the rain had dried up and it was a beautiful blue sky, with a few low clouds around the mountain peaks.
We stopped in Arthur’s pass, which is the middle of 3 passes in the mountains, this was to get a quick snap and to let off some passengers who were doing a day excursion.
10 minutes and we were back on the way to Greymouth.
(There is a cafe carriage in the trains, serves muffins, cookies, sandwiches, wraps, drink etc. And it’s all very yummy! Especially the banana and chocolate muffin!)
We passed old towns which had a population of 40ish people, and even a town with a population of 1 (how very lonely).
We continued on our journey, and the weather dramatically improved. The river was flowing so blue, and the mountains were so green!
It was just so spectacular! We passed Lake Brunner which was just so beautiful.
I don’t know what else to say, apart from this journey just shows you how beautiful nature actually is.
The one thing is was expecting was snow on the mountain tops. But I guess it was just the wrong season.
Go do this journey. It’s expensive, but it’s so amazing. And it’s a nice way to get from east to west coast!
Jess x
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