The TranzAlpine is a train journey
(considered one among the four of the Great New Zealand Journeys) from Christchurch to Greymouth, passing through the picturesque Canterbury plains and farms, rivers, valleys, and gorges, further climbing towards the pristine Southern Alps to Arthurs Pass National Park, descending into the rainforests in the West Coast and finishing off at Greymouth town. Greymouth is considered as a base for visits to some of the popular glaciers in South Island.
So, our Tranz Alpine timetable looked something like this. We would catch the early morning train from Christchurch railway station, reach Greymouth town by noon, and head back to Christchurch by car, the whole journey taking a good 8-9 hours. The whole deal was in experiencing the train ride, the train itself boasted of cosy carriages, huge panoramic windows, not forgetting the on-board café with exciting items on the menu, and the GPS enabled audio commentary on headphones. I of course was looking forward to the majestic window-views of sheep, mountains with at least small amounts of snow (as we were way past the winters), and vast greenery, all this with a cup of strong coffee paired with cake, and of course a confused baby.
We had landed at Christchurch the previous evening. We did nothing much that evening to stay fresh for the next day. So, we managed to reach the station well ahead of time, click a bunch of pictures with the KiwiRail in the backdrop and of that quiet uneventful station, catch the best seats (what we thought were best) facing each other, and settle ourselves for the next 4-5 hours.
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| The Kiwi Rail at the Christchurch Railway Station |
Of course our little boy was restless, we knew it was going to be difficult with him, but we wanted to do it anyhow, considering the crazy vagabonds we are. The panoramic windows were indeed huge and sparkling, offering us stunning views of the stunning landscape. The train pulled off at sharp 8 a.m. After about a hour I could feel a change in the landscape outside, as we had begun our ascent towards the slopes. From green fields to almost barren lands with absolutely no vegetation or creatures around. And almost immediately, in the distance I spotted the mountains with a hint of snow on their tops, standing majestically, oblivious to all the hype and noise people in the train were making. It was truly a sight to behold. So picturesque, so wild and pure. The New Zealand I remember seeing in pictures and always dreaming about.
We also got our coffees and cake, clicked a few pictures (although they would do absolutely no justice to what we were seeing), and made a feeble attempt to go out in the open carriage to enjoy the mountain breeze from our cosy cabins only to return in exactly 5 min for it was unbearably chilly. After a hour or so, the train made its first stop at the Arthurs Pass station. The stop although was for a brief 5 minutes, we had the opportunity to get off, stretch our legs, and take in the cold mountain air, and also quickly snap this gold of a picture. :D
After about 3-4 hours of the slow and pleasant train's rocking comfort, 2-3 cups of coffee, chatter, putting a restless baby to sleep, all this midst of trying to read and listen to the commentary, we reached Greymouth by 1 p.m. As Rajini and Narayana got busy arranging for the car for the return journey, I window shopped in the souvenir shop at the railway station (btw, which was the smallest and cutest functional railway station I had ever seen).
Greymouth is a charming little town which must be explored on two feet (if time permits). I of course could spend a good 2 days walking the length and breadth of the town and still have something more to see. I love exploring the small hidden towns of New Zealand even though they do not have anything great to offer. I like the towns for their extravagant simplicity, and always make it a point to stop and take a small walk and try and imagine what it would be like to live there whenever I pass through one. I also remember reading about the jade and gold mining history of the town, and saw a few guides on places that were dedicated to provide us some history and experiences about that. There also were few places 2-3 hours drive from the town (which we with a heavy heart decided to skip as it would have been very tedious for us). As we did not have much time left, we couldn't do anything else but spare 30 minutes to drive about and scan through the town.
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| At the viewpoint where we took a small break at in Greymouth |
We found a welcoming little Moroccan café in the town, and the hungry us instantly decided to step in. We had a delicious lunch of couscous with fried veggies and chicken and some lemonade, and started our journey back. We were fortunate to have got a 7 seater that needed to be dropped back to Christchurch, which meant the drive was going to be even more enjoyable, and that we should not waste more time. We absolutely loved the comfortable seats and the big car and absolutely empty roads for miles together combination.
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| The boy clearly seemed to be loving the spacious car |
So, once we got in, we just did not want to stop anytime soon but proceed. We decided to not go looking for places of attraction near Greymouth, and instead enjoy the drive through the mountains and maybe be able to stop wherever we wanted to. The drive back was as scenic as from the train giving us a different perspective of the mountain roads. We crossed bridges both old and new (each charming in their own ways), plains where nothing was in sight for miles, drove through the winding roads at Arthur Pass marvelling at a brilliantly constructed bridge (picture below), stopping at the Arthur's Pass village café to click the gorgeous views, enjoy a cup of coffee at a café that seemed like in the middle of nowhere.
After we resumed our drive further, we decided to take a detour at a place that demanded us to just stop and get out of the car and give it some credit. We walked some distance and came upon a camping area by a stream where some campers seemed to be settling for the evening.
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| We could but only capture a little bit of the nature this way |
For a second, we wanted to stay back too, but we had a mountain of things to think about to do that. So, we took a stroll and started back stopping at few more such places ahead (one better than the other). Oh! Driving back through this road was the best thing to do. Would totally recommend it to anyone covering this stretch and are a fan of empty roads. Such stunning spots all along. We reached our Airbnb property in Christchurch by 8 p.m. near dead. I don't even recollect what we ate for dinner. But I remember us eating something, getting refreshed, and sleeping off early to ensure we do not miss out the fun next day.
Christchurch city and around
The next day we decided to drive to Akaroa and the Banks Peninsula area, about 80 of km from Christchurch. Akaroa supposedly is an old French settlement with most places still bearing the French names and charm. The town also offers some great ocean and mountain views from almost every street. As it wasn't very far from Christchurch, and sounded alluring enough, we decided to go driving around and explore further.
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| Rajini's surprise for me and Nana. This handsome guy ;) |
And not surprisingly, Akarao was everything as promised and actually even better. The sun must have enhanced the views, and the holiday vibe made it appear like a town to spend a perfect afternoon at. The shimmering cobalt blue ocean by the town visible from almost everywhere was magical. The town itself was stunningly charming. We visited their old lighthouse, where an old man explained to us the functioning of the wooden lighthouse with a brief history. The lighthouse was a cute little one and its location offered some gorgeous views of the town and the ocean.
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| Doesn't it look like the cutest little lighthouse? |
There were a lot of cafe's and restaurants in Akaroa fighting for tourists' attention. We however weren't very hungry and just decided to grab a drink and sit and enjoy the relaxing holiday vibe the town was exuding.
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| I hope that slight blue in the background gives you an idea of what we were at ;) |
We walked around looking at a number of French bakeries, souvenir shops, churches, and some beautiful French architecture. Our only regret was not having considered spending a night in this paradise. The town looked straight out of a travel magazine. Clean streets lined with vibrant seasonal blooms, charming buildings, accompanied with artistic lamp posts. We easily spent 3-4 hours in the town, and then decided to drive back leisurely to Christchurch through the Banks Peninsula. It was a gorgeous stretch from there, with unreal landscapes, winding roads offering amazing views of the ocean and the Akaroa town from almost every turn. I remember seeing a cruise parked in the middle of the sea near the town, and the whole scene looking like a postcard.
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| Akaroa and the Banks Peninsula area - a treat for the soul |
We also enjoyed the drive back talking about our lives back in India and here, mostly reliving memories of old road trips. Road trips with great views on amazing roads, with good company must be considered a serious therapy option. We reached Christchurch late evening but in time to go and watch the gorgeous sunset sky from the Port Hills view.
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| The dramatic sunset sky |
We were to return to Auckland by flight the next evening, which meant we had the whole day to explore the city, which also meant we would have to start early the next day, so that we do not miss anything. The first thing we set out looking for the next day was a tram ticket. We decided to park our car and explore the town in a tram. Christchurch city is known for its unique architecture (most buildings renovated after the repeated earthquakes that had struck the city and almost destroyed most of it), funky street art, green spaces (New Zealand cannot be imagined without all those big an d small parks), and of course the beautiful trams. So exploring the town on a tram sounded like the most convenient option ensuring we wouldn't miss anything. We must have spent the whole morning getting in and out of trams, in the course seeing a museum, a huge park, the town side with its beautiful pastel buildings, and bits of art all along the town.
We even got down and spent some time in the city center walking and exploring the cafe's and other places of interest. There is so much street art in Christchurch that you are sure to miss out a major chunk if you are planning on doing it all on one day. Unfortunately we did not have that much time to be able to cover it all.
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| (Left) My favourite was this pretty blue one. (Right) Christchurch city centre lined with restaurants and cafes with pastel buildings |
After a quick lunch, we got to other side of the city through a tram of course. We saw the famous Christchurch Cathedral partly destroyed because of the repeated earthquakes, but still looking glorious as ever. Looking at this monument gave me a feeling of an apocalypse city that has slowly recovered and still is, slowly and beautifully.
Another interesting thing about Christchurch is that it is considered as a gateway to the great Antarctic expeditions. It is also referred to as one of the Antarctic gateway cities in the world. Its connections with Antarctica are definitely worth exploring. To find out more about this, we planned to visit the Antarctic center located near the airport before. But there was so much do and see in the city that we got late for the Antarctic center plan. We also were tired and hungry from the constant walking and tram switching, that we decided to just lay down and enjoy the cool breeze in the park, post which we grabbed something to eat at an Indian eatery, and leave for the airport.
I felt the trip was incomplete as the city had so much art, history, and beauty to be seen and appreciated and I was short of time for that. I would have to return to Christchurch to tick off the pending items from my list. Hopefully I can do that, and update the details in another blog titled Christchurch Part 2. :-)
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