TranzAlpine and a night in Greymouth

After an early wake-up call on Saturday, we picked up Phil and Lou in the taxi and made it to the train station in good time for the 8.15am departure of the TranzAlpine. We had booked separately but hoped (and Lou had been told) that the two couples could request seats together when the train arrived. This was not the case - after queueing for ages, and being redirected to the station manager, we were informed that there was no way our seats could be moved, and we would be seated at opposite ends of the train. Since the TranzAlpine is split in the middle by a generator, allowing for no passenger passage between the two sections, this made it impossible for us to spend any of the journey together. It wasn't the end of the world, but it was annoying, particularly as Lou had specifically asked about this when she booked the first pair of tickets. I guess that it won't be resolved until the TranzAlpine service moves into the computer age and allocates seats as passengers check in, rather than on paper in advance.

Anyway, that's my only real complaint about the weekend. The rest of it was great. We were very lucky to get fantastic weather throughout, and the journey to Greymouth on Saturday in the morning sun was just beautiful. The temperature was chilly when we left Christchurch, and just dropped as we advanced through the Southern Alps. I spent some time outside on the viewing platform at the back of the train, and could barely feel my fingers when I came back inside, despite being fully dressed for winter including many layers of clothign, a coat, hat, and massive furry scarf. By the time we stopped for a five minute fresh-air break in Arthur's Pass, I knew enough to wrap up very well before going outside!

The train took about five hours to reach the west coast, and by the time we arrived, the snow had given way to temperate weather and lush green rain forests. Phil and Lou headed back on the return train after lunch, but Skry and I stayed the night in the Kingsgate Hotel. We lucked out with a $99/room last minute deal, and were very happy with the accommodation, particularly when we managed to get a late checkout and didn't need to leave until 11am on Sunday!

Our evening in Greymouth was mostly spent chatting over a few drinks. It's not a big town (and doesn't even have any traffic lights!) but we bounced between a few different venues and generally had fun. We spent quite a while chatting to a guy called Colin, who moved from Scotland to Greymouth when he was only a baby. Colin waxed lyrical about the west coast, and also introduced us, through the medium of the video playing behind his seat, to George Thorogood. Skry is now a fan, I think!

After a Sunday lie-in, we checked out of our hotel and had a delicious breakfast in a spacious and low-key cafe called dp:one. After that, there wasn't much to do but mooch around the town until our train left just after lunchtime. Greymouth does not have a lively shopping scene, it seems, or a very lively anything else for that matter. It's a lovely little town, and we both enjoyed our stay, but those craving the bright lights of a big city would do well to stay away. We did head towards the museum but found it shut, so we ended up walking around the virtually deserted port area for twenty minutes or so until it was time to head back into the main town. We did meet another couple who told us that there was a white heron nearby that might be worth photographing, but all we found was a big pile of ice left by a recently departed fishing boat. Also, on our way back through town, we found a shop selling golliwogs. I didn't even know they were legal any more - guess the PC brigade hasn't reached this part of the world of the world yet, or else people have realised that some things just aren't offensive in themselves.

The train journey back to Christchurch was uneventful. As the train didn't depart until 2.15pm, the tail end of the journey was in dusk or darkness, so we really didn't do much peering out the windows after the first hour or so. The outward journey was way better for sightseeing. But we did get to enjoy the views of Lake Brunner and a lot of snowy mountains and lush forests, before it got too dark to see outside the windows. For $115/return, I think the TranzAlpine was great value for money, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone. We had a great weekend.