Tranz Alpine Ride

Thursday we left Christchurch without seeing any of it. Back on another train for the Tranz Alpine Railway trip. This train had two additional cars and was full of tourists. There were two identifiable large groups, one from China and one from India. We rode out of the Christchurch with the view of a developing rainbow.

It was sunny and warmish. Again, we passed over many rivers and through many tunnels, but they were no less beautiful than the ones previously.

Once we reached a higher elevation, the weather began to change. At Arthur’s Pass, we were required to get out of the train, and get on buses while the train passed through a tunnel “for health and safety reasons.” We never did get an explanation why, but someone near us said he thought there were fumes in the tunnel.

At any rate, the 20-minute ride on the bus provided the most amazing views of waterfalls, through rain streaked windows. I lost count at 28 of them. It wasn’t really convenient to take any pictures from the crowded bus so I just enjoyed them without distraction. No doubt they were more spectacular because of the deluge of rain they had had in the last 24 hours.

When we arrived in Greymouth, we had a quick lunch, checked out a plaque, and picked up our Budget rental car.

On the train, we had heard rumors about road closings on the coast. The rain had caused some mudslides on the only road leading to Queenstown. But we had one night in Franz Josef first. Sat in the hot pools and relaxed from all the sitting. The Glacier View Motel did not have a view of the Glacier, nor did it have internet as suggested. But, it did have a lovely yellow lab named Kate. Here is our view of our Glacier View Motel.
We have very limited internet here so here are the pictures that go with above text...

Plaque reading

Do you see the glacier??