Our tour company had arranged for us to be picked up by cab early this morning to take us to the 8:15 departure of the TranzAlpine train. That 5 hour journey would take us from Christchurch in the east to Greymouth in the west, where we would collect our rental car for the 2 1/2 hour drive down the scenic route 6 to our stop for the day at a beautiful little town, Franz Josef.
While the day and journey started out cloudy, by halfway through the train trip, it started to rain-- hard. That fact colored our experience. Rain and fog obscured a good part of the trip. If there were spectacular views, we didn't, for the most part, see them. We sat opposite a couple from Toronto (small world??). The woman wore a sweatshirt that proclaimed "Canada is not for sale!"
Overall, we found that the experience did not live up to the hype. From what we could tell, even with the rain, the views were not what I'd call superlative. Service on the train (we had breakfast with our tickets) was lame. The food was packaged food that they reheated. They'd give you your "cooked" meal, then you'd have to wait 3 or 4 minutes to get your beverage. We wished we had just driven the route.
In Greymouth, we picked up our ride, a huge Mitsubishi Outlander, and set off in the rain down route 6, a lush green landscape pretty much all the way. Ferns clung to the rock faces (we guessed there was rock under all the greenery because the surfaces were vertical) at the sides of the road. You really couldn't see rocks or soil anywhere, just trees, bushes, and flowers (crocosmia, like in Ireland!). It was really a delight to see, even in the rain.
About an hour north of Franz Josef, the road became a series of twists and turns, snaking through the mountain area. It was pretty cool.
We arrived at our stop for the night by late afternoon. It is a beautiful, quiet, clean mini-apartment with a kitchen, sofa, and extra bed. I suspect that since we booked this trip so late in the season (summer here had already begun) we got the last room here. Almost every accommodation is sold out. We don't mind. So far, every hotel has been excellent. Franz Josef is a beautiful, scenic town.
We notice that there is a heavy oriental population here. We went to a bustling oriental restaurant for dinner that featured Thai, Filipino, and Chinese dishes. As all the places we've dined at so far, ingredients are all super fresh and tasty.
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