The Trans-Alpine to Christchurch

It is time to depart the west coast of New Zealand and head cross country to Christchurch - and what better form of transport can there be than the Trans-alpine express? The train collects passengers from Greymouth along with their baggage and transports them in luxury for 5 hours across breathtaking landscapes.
I am eagerly awaiting the train at 1pm. Watching the melee of people from coaches trying to check in baggage I am pleased that I deposited my backpack at 9am this morning ;) I am assigned a seat on the left hand side of carriage H at a window seat but soon find that I have both seats to myself!! It appears that in this off season there are lots of spare seats in the carriages ;) Settling in I have lunch (purchased from Countdown - Cheaper than on the train) while we begin our journey through the valleys leading to the alpine pass.
The train begins to climb and soon the landscape is one of towering mountains and deep gorges, so off to the open air observation car (a small carriage at the rear of the train with railings either side and signs suggesting you keep your appendages inside the rails or you could lose them!!). The noise is tremendous and I find a spot on the running board which gives a slightly better view of the onrushing countryside and allows me to settle my back against the wall ;) I am taken aback by the landscape which is ever-changing around us with crystal clear streams/rivers cutting through wide glacial valleys used for farming of livestock. At one point we are all asked to come back inside as we need to ascend to Arthur’s Pass through the longest tunnel in New Zealand - It has a steep incline and takes several minutes to pass through… The problem is that diesel fumes can built up in the tunnel so they have placed doors and extractor fans to reduce the effects, but only one train at a time can use the track…
Arthur’s Pass is a 10min break in the journey with its small platform surrounded by the dominating presence of several mountain peaks - this must be quite a site in Winter :)
The final two hours of the journey take us through a landscape of mountains and steep sided river Gorges with the train passing over several iconic bridges and through many short tunnels… I am once again on the running plate for the duration and enjoy the sheer joy of a locomotive at full steam ;) The scenery passing by continues to leave you in awe until arriving on the great eastern plane - an area of flat farmland stretching into Christchurch and my final debarkation point. A fabulous trip and one I would recommend to all.