From the deep and dazzling Pacific Ocean to the rough and rugged Tasman Sea, Lorna Subritzky ticks The TranzAlpine off her travel wish list.
"Trains are wonderful ... To travel by train is to see nature and human beings, towns and churches, and rivers, in fact, to see life."
I'd be more convinced by Agatha Christie's words if she hadn't woven one of her most famous works around a grisly homicide on this very mode of transport - but throwing a murderous glance at the alarm clock as it pierces the early morning, I'm excited about the thriller ahead.
The Tween has deigned to accompany me as I tick off a wish-list item: one of the world's great train journeys, The TranzAlpine. Today we're travelling from the dazzling Pacific Ocean to the rugged Tasman Sea, a 223km journey that climbs up and over the South Island's spine between Christchurch and Greymouth.
It's a short drive from our central city hotel to the Railway Station in Addington, where there's plentiful parking. I'm glad we've Ubered though, as driver Thomas is full of facts: the TranzAlpine is the best-known and most successful of our Great Rail Journeys, and pre-earthquakes and pandemics was carrying more than 200,000 passengers a year. It's also the first to resume travel as tourism picks up (sister trains The Northern Explorer and Coastal Pacific should be - er, back on track in spring).
All aboard
At the modest but modern station, staff greet us (check-in closes 20 minutes before the train departs, so it pays to be prompt). You can't select your own seats, so it's not until we board that we find we've been allocated one of the table bays which seat four; as the train is not full, we can spread out and both have a window seat. Other seating is two-by-two, with tray tables opening from the seat in front, airline-style. Worth asking at check-in if you can have a table bay if you want to avoid fights over who gets the best view.
There's overhead lighting, USB ports for charging phones and cameras, and screens in each carriage showing you where you are on the route. Most helpfully, each passenger is issued with headphones - a GPS-triggered commentary (from award-winning newsreader Raylene Ramsay) gives a fascinating insight into history highlights and spots of interest along the almost five-hour journey.
We've yet to have breakfast so our first stop is the Scenic Cafe, which is open prior to departure and stocks a great range of packaged meals and drinks (the bar also has a good selection of local beers and wines, a point I note for the return journey). They make a good coffee too, and we're back in our seats just as the whistle sounds. It's 8.15, bang on time, and we're off!
Suburban Christchurch backdrops quickly make way for the vast patchwork of the Canterbury plains, with brief stops at Rolleston and Darfield. There is something to see everywhere we look, aided by the panoramic windows and skylights in the specially designed scenic carriages.
Taking decent pics from your seat is a doddle, but for a truly spectacular photo you can head to the outdoor viewing carriage, which provides a cool blast of alpine air as a bonus to the unobstructed vistas. Just remember to take a hat and scarf! We found the carriage crowded soon after departure, yet as the scenery became even more stunning, the novelty had worn off for many so maybe save your visit until an hour or so in.
Southern Alps splendour
At the far side of the plains, we reach Springfield. If I didn't know better, I'd think Springfield was the end of the line as the seemingly impenetrable Southern Alps loom ahead of us. And indeed it was, until the turn of last century when construction began on the arduous route through the formidable terrain.
This section of railway, between Springfield and the township of Arthur's Pass, is considered a masterpiece of engineering and is the section for which the TranzAlpine is most famed.
The route firstly heads northeast to join the Waimakariri River gorge. The aqua-blue braids of the river appear and disappear from our window several times as the TranzAlpine climbs the cliffs above it. As we rise, the scenery is as varied as the weather, which is by turns misty and sunny, the hills daubed with autumn tones.
During the ascent to the high plains of Craigieburn, there are 15 short tunnels and four dramatic viaducts, the highest of which is the 72m Staircase. Then at the far end of the Craigieburn Straight come perhaps the most famous views of the trip, the ones that feature in all the brochures: a stunning view of Mount Binser and the edges of Arthur's Pass National Park. There is no snow on the mountains this particular weekend but they are still breathtaking.
Don't blink, or you'll miss Cass (population: 1), made famous by a Rita Angus painting that was once voted NZ's favourite. Shortly after, we meet again with the Waimakariri River, and then cross it to reach Arthur's Pass - a chance to stretch our legs and take the obligatory tourist selfie in the highest pass in the Southern Alps.
Headed west
From natural wonders, it's time to marvel at a manmade one: the Ōtira Tunnel, at 8.6km the longest in the British Empire at the time of its opening 99 years ago. After we enter the tunnel, a door closes off the entrance and a large fan extracts the fumes behind the train.
Once the fumes have been extracted, the door is reopened. The open-air observation carriage is closed during this time, as is the cafe, so it's the perfect time for me to survey our fellow passengers.
There's quite the mix on board: retired couples who are here to drink tea and sightsee; card-carrying backpackers who'd rather play whist than stare wistfully out windows; older families; commuters soothed to sleep with the clickety-clack motion; the Tween and I.
The Tween isn't quite the youngest on board, that title is taken by a young cherub who's rather delightful - though her dad's overly-loud repetition of her every utterance grates and I find myself wondering uncharitably if the murder on the Orient Express began with such a parent. Thankfully this rather dark train of thought ends as our own train emerges from the tunnel into a vastly different sub-tropical landscape: the beech rainforest, lakes and river valleys of the West Coast.
During these stretches, we're nestled intimately between the mountainous hills, with the broad riverbeds meandering alongside the tracks. It's been dry, so there are no waterfalls to behold, but I'm told they're a treat in midwinter.
River deep, mountain high
At Inchbonnie, the TranzAlpine loops back on itself to head around the lush lake valleys to Moana, on the banks of the spectacular Lake Brunner. The TranzAlpine then joins the Arnold River valley that spills out into the Grey River valley on its final stretch before finally pulling into Greymouth (living up to its name with drizzly weather) in perfect time for lunch.
For many, Greymouth provides the ideal stepping stone to the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki, the world-famous Fox and Franz Josef glaciers or the home of wildfood, Hokitika. Sadly for us, time constraints mean we have just an hour here heading back to Christchurch.
There's time to visit the Miners Memorial on the river's edge, honouring the 398 men who have lost their lives in the region's mining disasters over the past 150 years, including Pike River. It's a sobering moment, then we hurry to grab a quick lunch at a pub close to the station: we found the service quick and friendly, and the fresh seafood superb.
All too soon, it's time to reboard the train as light washes the mountains to resemble Grahame Sydney paintings before night falls towards the end of the journey. With the bar doing brisk business, it's a jovial trainload of passengers who alight at Addington around 6.30 pm, ready to hit Christchurch on Saturday night.
It's been a long day, a long journey, and the memories will last a long time. Thankfully there was no murder on the TranzAlpine express, but this Girl on the Train thinks it deserves to be a best-seller.
Details
The TranzAlpine runs between Christchurch and Greymouth and return, Fridays to Mondays. Journeys are from $179 to $219 each way per adult; $125 to $152 per child. greatjourneysofnz.co.nz/tranzalpine
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