Has anyone done the round trip Christchurch to Greymouth on the TranzAlpine Train. We are thinking of going on it when we visit the South Island in January.
Any tips would be appreciated.

June

Hi there it truly is an awesome trip on the train to Greymouth i took my brother and his family on it.

One comment i would make if you were planning a trip back as well would be to take the train over to Greymouth and rent a car and drive back (or vice versa) the reason being you will get 2 totally different ideas of the Arthurs Pass area it really is an amazing drive although its fairly steep in parts (because you are driving through the mountains) i would suggest if you do it to hire an automatic car. Some fab photo opportunities as well and there is a place if you are driving i forget what its called now but i am sure someone on here will tell us and the Kea Parrots live around there. You will also sometimes see them in the Arthurs Pass village if you are travelling by car.
They are cheeky devils though and love to try and chew the rubber round the windowscreen....
Cheers
Cally

Hi Cally

Thanks for that but I think we are going to do the round trip by train because we are both in our seventies and it will be easier for us. I did some of the driving last time we were there and it always seemed to be my turn when we were high up and twisting & turning I thought I was in a James Bond movie. One more question I see the train is licensed but is there a dining car or can we get a sandwich & or a tea of coffee. I don't want to start on the whisky at 8.30 in the morning.

June

Hi June

I just had a look to see what was on offer for refreshments as my husband is doing the Tranzalpine trip this coming weekend. It says on the link that they have a buffet carriage.

http://www.railnewzealand.com/Tranzalpine.html

Hi June
my wife and I did this just over a year ago and loved it. We stopped at Arthurs pass and played in the freshly fallen snow, whole train had snowball fight. Their is an ok buffet carriage with bar, sammies and full meals, although I had already stocked up on beer in Greymouth. Stayed in nice hotel in Chtistchurch and then returned, was a lovely birthday trip. There is also a viewing carriage so you can take photos, but as this was outside it was a tad cold. You will love it. Darren

Hi there sorry i didn't get to reply sooner i see someone has replied re the buffet carriage. When we did the trip the actual viewing carriage had been taken off for repairs and the one they used was tiny so it was hard to get photos and as one other has said quite cold so take something warm to pop on fir when you pop out to take a photo........

I know what you mean about the twisting and turning on the long drive I used to live down by the glaciers so did the trip to christchurch often.... (how long ago was it that you did the drive was it after the viaduct went in because that has made a huge difference its taken out the really bad twists and turns i cant remember how many years its been there now though)
Anyhow good luck with your trip you will love it.
Cheers
Cally

Hi June! We'll be taking the Tranzalpine in November and can report back if you like. I've only heard good things.

Its good to get first hand experience.

Hi Cally.

We have not driven in this part of NZ before because our daughter & family live in the North Island. Last year we drove from Papamoa to Christchurch taking the ferry which was very enjoyable. This time we thought we would take the easy way so we are flying from Tauranga to Christchurch. That's another story to tell. I will put it under a separate heading.

June

I met the Keas at "Death Corner" just after the viaduct going towards Arthurs Pass.. before the viaduct was built it must have been a scary journey!

I thought it was called deaths corner and after all those years of driving that road i should have remembered but it has been 8 or so years now and to be honest i was too busy negotiating all the corners to look at what they were called lol

Believe me it was a hell of journey b4 the viaduct esp on the one way bit which was the steepest part and if you were going up and someone was coming down the hill start was sometimes quite interesting lol
We even got stuck up there in a snow storm once but thats another story.....
Many stories i could tell about old Arthurs Pass...........
Have a nice evening everyone!
Cheers
Cally

There are some good pics of the viaduct if you google earth Arthurs Pass, including some Keas!

Yes please

June

Will do. Planning this trip is a bit overwhelming - so many choices, so little time.

How long are you going for and what have you arranged up to now?

June

We'll be there just over 2 weeks. We're staying with friends of a friend in Christchurch and Nelson, with Queenstown, Te Anau, Fox Glacier, and Punakaiki on our own in between. We also plan to go whale watching in Kaikoura after Nelson before returning to Christchurch. We were going to go to Dunedin, but they felt strongly that we should skip it.

Our friend (originally from NZ) put together a suggested itinerary for us that is very detailed! Complete with restaurant recommendations, etc (let me know if you're interested in any). I'm trying to work out some details around the Te Anau, Milford Sound, Queenstown, Wanaka area to figure out where to stay and what to do. It looks like you can drop quite a bit of cash in that neck of the woods without trying.

You?