The Transalpine Train

On Monday we drove back to Auckland, then took a short flight to Christchurch. We'll see the town on Wednesday. We spent all day Tuesday on the Transalpine train which runs all the way across the south island, from Christchurch to Greymouth and back again.

We get on here...

We're going out there...

It's rugged country and reminds me of the American west. This train follows an old stagecoach trail.

This is the "braided river." The river bed is very deep gravel, deposited during the quakes and volcanoes that shaped these mountains. The river is composed of multiple streams of water that run through the gravel in braids.

At the end of the line we have an hour to wander around Greymouth, a harbour town where the Greymouth river opens into the ocean.

Fishing, firearms and steaks.

The train was running behind schedule as we returned back across the island to Christchurch, but that turned out to be a plus. Back on the train, we returned through the mountains at sunset. Gorgeous.