Storyline: Home to home westward
There are three scenic trains that Kiwi rail operates, and we had them all booked shortly after our itinerary was ready. Booking the Northern Explorer was essential to the schedule since it only runs 3 days a week from Auckland to Wellington. We had already decided that we won’t have enough time to do much on North Island, hence the focus was on South Island.
The second train would take us from Picton to Christchurch with a stop-over in Kaikoura. This train service had just reopened in December 2018 after tracks were destroyed during the 2016 earthquake in the area. The last train would be the TranzAlpine from Christchurch to Greymouth. After that we were to head south on the west coast by coaches, stopping at Franz Josef along the way. As you may know from a previous post, this had to change due to weather-related road closures. So, when we were in Auckland, we had to book a return on the TranzAlpine back to Christchurch. Luckily there were seats still available, otherwise we would have missed that trip entirely. We also booked the ferry from Wellington to Picton through the same website.
We haven’t seen many train stations at all, and where they exist, they often open just for the daily train, about an hour before departure. Passengers’ names are in the computer system, and for the three trains we took, they had pre-printed tickets ready for distribution. The train staff will hand you the ticket, seats assigned, check your luggage in, and off you go onto the train.
We took all three mainly tourist trains, although there were locals using some of them to travel. All scenery is absolutely stunning. However, there was a major disappointment – the closure of all outdoor observation cars. One idiot had spoiled the enjoyment for so many. Stupid selfie culture. The idiot apparently had a selfie stick and leaned so far out (another idiot holding him) that a tunnel entrance almost took his head off. The trains still haul the observation cars (for engineering purposes they say), however the cars are locked until a safety solution is engineered. They think the car will be glassed in, which defeats the purpose of an observation car. Pity!
We tried a few photos from the windows, but they all have reflections.
Sat, March 30
The Northern Explorer from Auckland to Wellington
This morning we left Auckland for our first train ride through North Island to Wellington. I needed a month more if I wanted to fit this part of New Zealand into our itinerary.
The train took over 13 hours with some delays. Initially I was planning some stop-overs and to stay in the Tongariro National Park. However, this train only runs 3 days a week from Auckland to Wellington, making the return trip the following day. To catch the next train and have enough time even at one place was not feasible. So, we decided to spend more time on South Island.
There was a shipping container at Auckland Strand, functioning as a “station building”. It was opened an hour before departure. A young fellow marshalling the crowd told us the story of the episode that had triggered the observation cars’ closure. The train was already stationed and being checked over for departure readiness. The staff came in, after which we were given the tickets and left our luggage with the young fellow for loading. Some big suitcases (not ours of course) were weighed to make sure they were within the allowed limits.
All the seats face forward, except the ones around the tables. These are usually reserved for groups. The seats are turned forward every time the train changes direction. There is plenty of leg room, and plugs to charge your electronics. This is true for all the Kiwirail trains that we experienced.
The food and drinks in the train are cheaper in comparison to any café or restaurant. It is the price you’d pay in a grocery store for take out. We had a salad and main dish (lamb shanks) pre-ordered with the tickets. The comfortable café car was always full with some inconsiderate people hogging tables, to the point that they had to announce a 20 min limit.
So when we wanted our lunch, they brought it to our seats, which was a better option to fighting the idiots (we’d run into some of them later on a bus from Milford Sound, taking two seats each although they were together, just because they could). It could be part of their culture (I pushed you around, got here first and therefore it’s mine), but we found it quite disgraceful.
Overheard in the buffet: “No sir, we can’t serve you another beer until you can prove you are not drunk”
“Sir, this is a Canadian bill”. Yes, there were other Canadians on the train and it is so easy to mix the $20 bills. They look exactly the same material, size and colour, but have different graphics and country name.
Unfortunately, the PA system did not work, so we missed the narratives about the places we passed by. It was an interesting journey, crossing the entire island. We arrived later than scheduled and called our host who picked us up from the station.
We don’t know if this station works all day or only when there is a train, but since there are quite a few local commuter trains from and to Wellington we assume it is a functioning train station.
April 3
InterIslander ferry from Wellington to Picton
Our hosts dropped us off at the InterIslender ferry terminal this morning. It was still raining. Our friends Jane & Stuart had a bad experience with not finding seats when they were here just a month or so before us. Stuart, being sick, had had to lie on the ground. It was then high season, and of course the ferry was full, but because of my tendency for motion sickness we had to make sure we had seats. Stuart had told us to make sure we lined up early and so be ahead of the game.
So we positioned ourselves by the terminal’s exit door. There were a few big groups behind us. We had read that we could buy seats for an adult only lounge from the onboard reception, so this was the first thing we did. When we boarded, a staff member directed us up the stairs, but we knew that reception and our target lounge weren’t there, so we asked if we could not go to reception. “Yes, of course you can”, she said. Tip: if you want to book a seat, make sure you ask for reception and do not follow the directions to the upper decks.
The seats cost $20NZ each, however one gets $15 voucher for onboard food and drinks, so effectively the seats were only $5 each: an investment well worth it for three and a half hours cruise. The lounge was just beside the buffet and I made sure we had window seats (they do assign seat numbers, so if you are out and about you can return to your seat).
Despite the rain, the waters were calm and I had no problem, except for a short period crossing the straits. So, we had pleasant time on the ferry, Alex hopping up in the cold and rain to take some photos. Marlborough Sound, or what we saw of it through the clouds, is lovely. Didn’t see any animals, but we have Kaikoura scheduled for this.
April 5
The Coastal Pacific from Picton to Kaikoura
It was time for the Coastal Pacific. The train departed at shortly after 2pm. There is not much of a train station in Picton either. There is huge Subway restaurant adjacent to the tiny room that serves as a waiting room that and opens an hour before the train arrives from Christchurch.
They tag your luggage, give you the tickets and about 15 min before departure one can board. The train is only two passenger carriages, a café carriage and the observation car that is closed, but still hauled. There are some local people that use the train to travel, and the rest are tourists.
This track is a delight. It turns and twists as it slowly goes up a steep hill, then descends to the shores and almost touches the water. It is actually amazing that they can maintain it at all. At places the road that parallels the tracks is still under construction after the earthquake.
The views of the coast are spectacular and again we regret there was no observation car to take some photos. The PA system worked and they told us all the stories of places, towns and villages we passed. It was interesting how carefully political the narrative was. They called, for example, a fight between the European settlers and the Maori an “incident” (it was previously known as a massacre), where both sides lost lives, because of mere misunderstanding. They also carefully spell out the native names of the places.
We passed by quite impressive pinkish salt fields of Lake Grassmere. They told us the story, among others, of the developer George Skellerup, who started the solar evaporation method salt works in 1942.
Before that time, all salt had to be imported, but this enterprise now produces about half the country’s demand.
At one point, approaching the mountains near Kaikoura we noticed lots of surfers. Can’t imagine how cold the water is, but it was definitely cold outside. We also noticed seals on the coastal rocks. And of course, lots of sheep in the fields as everywhere else.
April 7
Kaikoura to Christchurch on a coach
It rained a lot during the night. In the morning we checked out of our room and sat in the living room by the fireplace. It was pouring out, so no activities could be pursued. Our host told us that Judy (his wife) had called from the Whale Watchers centre where she works, to inform us that we won’t be taking the train today. There was a landslide on the tracks and the train wasn’t running. We’d be bussed to Christchurch instead, on the same schedule, which departed at 5pm. We were lucky the road wasn’t closed too, it often paralleling the tracks. At noon, Judy came home for her lunch break then drove us to the Whale Watchers’ centre. This apparently is the old train station, expanded with a gift store, café and a waiting room with benches and navigation display. Because of the weather we couldn’t do much more but spend the rest of the day in this station. Initially we asked Judy to lock up our luggage with the hope that weather would eventually improve and we could at least make a walk to the museum. They had a few cages on the platform where people (mostly Whale Watcher’s customers could drop off their luggage. We didn’t have any luck with the rain, so closer to departure we asked the staff to unlock our luggage and bring it in. The bus picked us up from the train station and off we went to Christchurch. Pity we could not finish the Coastal Pacific, but glad the roads were OK for the bus, because apparently in such weather it is easy for them to be washed away too. Even during summer months.
April 10
TranzAlpine Christchurch to Greymouth and back
This is our last train in New Zealand. When planning our trip, I decided that we didn’t have time for Dunedin, where they have a private company running some old steam trains, so we’d skip the east coast and go west to Franz Josef and see the glacier instead. Well, it wasn’t meant to be, but we still don’t have enough time for the train tour in Dunedin.
As much as I hate repeating a point, there was no way to take the TranzAlpine under the circumstances but to also return on it. So, we did. The train has some commuters, but again mostly tourists from all over the world. It had four passenger cars, plus the café and the closed observation car.
Again, we were told the history of the places we passed by, the names of the mountains, the flora and fauna in the area, etc.
The views of this scenic railway are the most spectacular in terms of mountains, deep river gorges, viaducts and bridges.
The rain, though, did not stop.
So, when the train pulled into Arthur’s Pass station I didn’t bother getting off. It is a very short stop and my camera is not waterproof. Alex did go out on our way to Greymouth. In better weather conditions it would have made sense to stay a night or two and hike in the area. Could have been our plan B, covering the time allocated for Franz Joseph.
We had an hour to spend in Greymouth before returning on the same train. Nice little town from what we could see.
We were lucky our seats faced the other direction on our way back so we saw it all. But, me growing up in the mountains, I preferred the less popular Coastal Pacific route, perhaps because of the views of the Pacific and mountains descending into it.
That looks wonderful 🙂
Thank you Joshi!