TranzAlpine Journey & Franz Josef, NZ - 27 Feb 09
We got up at 6.15am for our cab pick up at 7.30am, the train was not due to leave before 8.15am but our host was right: there would be queues of people trying to board it. Sure enough. Coaches load of Japanese tourists and English ones too. In fact, 80% of the people we bump into (and we often bump into the same ones!) are English. We always swap conversation on the remarkable likeness with the weather, needless to say. In fact, what some people had to say made us feel better... one woman had nothing but downpour for days, another had excursions cancelled because of bad weather, etc. Tales of woes from all over the country. It was such a blessing that we did not start with the South Island and progressed Northwards because anyone who was in Queenstown last week had a totally rotten time with too much rain spoiling the fun.
When we left Christchurch it was a bit overcast, then we went through another drizzle patch and worried we wouldn't see the mountain tops but, amazingly, the weather got better and brighter as we progressed in our journey. We were seated in a carriage that had tables and they had a coach where you buy reasonably priced food and another one open for viewing. A large one in the middle of the train and a smaller one at the rear (the nearest to us). It was a good idea as it was impossible to take any decent shots at all when trying to shoot through the windows because of the reflections. But this would have been impossible if it'd rained.
So, Janet & I spent a great deal of timing standing outside, taking the sun, which was most enjoyable having suffered from a distinctive lack of real sunshine on this holiday. The only downside is that you also breathed in some smoke I guess as my face felt all clogged up and my hair felt like straw when I got off the train. I used some wipes for my face and they were deep grey - shocking. The train journey lasted 4h45 and it was enough. Some people were going straight back on it and we couldn't have faced it. I dare not imagine how much more boring it must be when you have low clouds and see nothing at all... so we had been real lucky as the weather forecast had predicted rain and it was actually really glorious when we got to our final stop.
The scenery along the journey, from the train ride, was quite pretty, true, especially about 1h30 away from Christchurch when we passed through gorges with turquoise waters but the Cantebury plains were nothing special (just like the UK - WITH drizzle) and the Southern Alps were lovely but, to be truthful, you'd see just as beautiful scenery when you get to Greymouth and drive around to Franz Josef, as we did.
In fact, when I realised how beautiful the journey was going to be, I deleted 26 pix I'd taken from the train as they were a touch blurred due to the train motion.
We did make time to have a quick lunch in Greymouth before we set off, and our first stop was the lovely Hokitika Gorge. The town of Hokitika is about 45kms away from Greymouth, but the detour to the Gorges was an extra 72kms! 31kms one way basically. It was seriously pretty scenery all the way with snow capped mountains in the background (we even saw 2 llamas in a field - we'd seen some before up North, I think the climate is similar to Peru down here, so, no wonder they seemed contented). The main appeal for the Hokitika Gorge (and I can never remember the name from one minute to the next!) is the water colour. Striking milky blue waters, just the way I like it ! :) There was even a swing bridge across them but the nicest photo would have been from the water edge, looking up towards the bridge. I'd seen a postcard of it and this is the shot I was after. However, because we still had 155kms to go, we couldn't really spare the time to hike around this pretty lake, which was a pity but Janet was still not 100% and it was already incredibly generous of her to drive an extra 72kms just to keep me happy ! :)
We then passed the town of Ross and the only thing to say about Ross is that it was an old gold mine town and it's where they found the biggest nugget ever in NZ. It was a massive 3.1kg and worth the equivalent of NZ$136,000 in today's money. The nugget was later purchased by the government of the day who gifted it to King George V, who then turned it into a golden tea set! (how very British is that ??). Hum.
The next stop, just to stretch our legs was by the shore of Lake Ianthe. There are plenty of lakes around here and I guess the rainfall accounts for a lot. 5m of rain per year is the average here. But it's also what makes it so lush I guess.
We eventually checked into the Ribbowood b&b at around 6pm (and we have a massive room that is as big as my studio flat size !) but it was so lovely weather-wise that we decided to make the most of this unexpected good spell ! (especially after so many people told us they'd had such a terrible time here). We headed for a short walk, 5kms South of Franz Joseph town. It was called Peter's Pools and was an easy 10mins walk and led to a gorgeous pond, with perfectly still water, that reflected the snow capped tops. VERY picturesque.
THE real treat for me though was that, when we got back to our car we found about 3 keas (medium sized parrots, with red under their wings and a green-grey overtone). They seemed to want to talk and didn't look shy at all -- though brochures here state you should be careful. But they looked adorable and I could have stayed with them all evening. I took some great shots. I was very happy indeed. It was my fav moment of the day... :)
We then had a dinner at Beeches and sat outside with the fireplace going behind us, very cosy. Great food. Perfect end to a glorious day... It's now POURING DOWN with rain as I'm writing this and they are shutting the internet cafe, ahhhh..... not sure what to do next now. Shooot.
We got up at 6.15am for our cab pick up at 7.30am, the train was not due to leave before 8.15am but our host was right: there would be queues of people trying to board it. Sure enough. Coaches load of Japanese tourists and English ones too. In fact, 80% of the people we bump into (and we often bump into the same ones!) are English. We always swap conversation on the remarkable likeness with the weather, needless to say. In fact, what some people had to say made us feel better... one woman had nothing but downpour for days, another had excursions cancelled because of bad weather, etc. Tales of woes from all over the country. It was such a blessing that we did not start with the South Island and progressed Northwards because anyone who was in Queenstown last week had a totally rotten time with too much rain spoiling the fun.
When we left Christchurch it was a bit overcast, then we went through another drizzle patch and worried we wouldn't see the mountain tops but, amazingly, the weather got better and brighter as we progressed in our journey. We were seated in a carriage that had tables and they had a coach where you buy reasonably priced food and another one open for viewing. A large one in the middle of the train and a smaller one at the rear (the nearest to us). It was a good idea as it was impossible to take any decent shots at all when trying to shoot through the windows because of the reflections. But this would have been impossible if it'd rained.
So, Janet & I spent a great deal of timing standing outside, taking the sun, which was most enjoyable having suffered from a distinctive lack of real sunshine on this holiday. The only downside is that you also breathed in some smoke I guess as my face felt all clogged up and my hair felt like straw when I got off the train. I used some wipes for my face and they were deep grey - shocking. The train journey lasted 4h45 and it was enough. Some people were going straight back on it and we couldn't have faced it. I dare not imagine how much more boring it must be when you have low clouds and see nothing at all... so we had been real lucky as the weather forecast had predicted rain and it was actually really glorious when we got to our final stop.
The scenery along the journey, from the train ride, was quite pretty, true, especially about 1h30 away from Christchurch when we passed through gorges with turquoise waters but the Cantebury plains were nothing special (just like the UK - WITH drizzle) and the Southern Alps were lovely but, to be truthful, you'd see just as beautiful scenery when you get to Greymouth and drive around to Franz Josef, as we did.
In fact, when I realised how beautiful the journey was going to be, I deleted 26 pix I'd taken from the train as they were a touch blurred due to the train motion.
We did make time to have a quick lunch in Greymouth before we set off, and our first stop was the lovely Hokitika Gorge. The town of Hokitika is about 45kms away from Greymouth, but the detour to the Gorges was an extra 72kms! 31kms one way basically. It was seriously pretty scenery all the way with snow capped mountains in the background (we even saw 2 llamas in a field - we'd seen some before up North, I think the climate is similar to Peru down here, so, no wonder they seemed contented). The main appeal for the Hokitika Gorge (and I can never remember the name from one minute to the next!) is the water colour. Striking milky blue waters, just the way I like it ! :) There was even a swing bridge across them but the nicest photo would have been from the water edge, looking up towards the bridge. I'd seen a postcard of it and this is the shot I was after. However, because we still had 155kms to go, we couldn't really spare the time to hike around this pretty lake, which was a pity but Janet was still not 100% and it was already incredibly generous of her to drive an extra 72kms just to keep me happy ! :)
We then passed the town of Ross and the only thing to say about Ross is that it was an old gold mine town and it's where they found the biggest nugget ever in NZ. It was a massive 3.1kg and worth the equivalent of NZ$136,000 in today's money. The nugget was later purchased by the government of the day who gifted it to King George V, who then turned it into a golden tea set! (how very British is that ??). Hum.
The next stop, just to stretch our legs was by the shore of Lake Ianthe. There are plenty of lakes around here and I guess the rainfall accounts for a lot. 5m of rain per year is the average here. But it's also what makes it so lush I guess.
We eventually checked into the Ribbowood b&b at around 6pm (and we have a massive room that is as big as my studio flat size !) but it was so lovely weather-wise that we decided to make the most of this unexpected good spell ! (especially after so many people told us they'd had such a terrible time here). We headed for a short walk, 5kms South of Franz Joseph town. It was called Peter's Pools and was an easy 10mins walk and led to a gorgeous pond, with perfectly still water, that reflected the snow capped tops. VERY picturesque.
THE real treat for me though was that, when we got back to our car we found about 3 keas (medium sized parrots, with red under their wings and a green-grey overtone). They seemed to want to talk and didn't look shy at all -- though brochures here state you should be careful. But they looked adorable and I could have stayed with them all evening. I took some great shots. I was very happy indeed. It was my fav moment of the day... :)
We then had a dinner at Beeches and sat outside with the fireplace going behind us, very cosy. Great food. Perfect end to a glorious day... It's now POURING DOWN with rain as I'm writing this and they are shutting the internet cafe, ahhhh..... not sure what to do next now. Shooot.
posted by Sylvie at 5:18 AM
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