Friday, Christchurch to Greymouth

Friday was a big day! We had reservations on the Tranz Alpine Express at 8:15, which travels from Christchurch across the Southern Alps and on to Greymouth, which is on the west coast of the south island, on the Tasman Sea.
Our motel person ordered us a shuttle to the train, and assured us that it would be there to pick us up at 7:00 am. We got up early (5:30!), and were down waiting at about 6:50. At 7:00 am there was NO shuttle - after our "no show" taxi at Christmas time, we're a little nervous about these things, but, about 5 minutes after 7, the taxi arrived - phew!
We got to the train and checked in our luggage and made our way to our car - car L, seats 9 A&B.
There are nice, big windows on the train, for viewing the spectacular scenery. At 8:15 we were off, on one of the great train journeys in the world!
It was overcast with a few sprinkles as we waited for the shuttle, and still pretty gray when we left. The first part of the journey was through the Canterbury plains, and we were still in thick overcast. But as we started climbing, blue sky appeared, and soon we were in full sun! The weather gods have certainly been smiling on us on this trip!
The train trip takes 4.5 hours. We took tons of pictures, but they were through the window, so there was a lot of glare and reflection, so we only posted a few pictures.
There was a cafe car, so we got coffee and breakfast, as well as another coffee/tea towards the end of the trip.
It was a beautiful train trip, we are so lucky to have been able to have such amazing weather.

The train arrived in Greymouth at 12:45. We stepped off the train into warm sunshine! We were right on the sea, and it felt like Santa Cruz! We queued up to get our rental car, made a motel reservation with the visitor center person at the train station, and loaded up our bags and headed to the hotel.
We stayed at the Bella Vista motel. Last year when we were touring around the north island, we tried to stay at the Bella Vista, but they were always full! So we were pleased about that. After settling in, we decided to go out to Punakaiki to see the pancake rocks.
This was the first time that Lee had driven on the left side of the road since we arrived in New Zealand, but he did really great, and we enjoyed the drive along the sea to Punakaiki. The pancake rocks are amazing limestone structures that have been carved by the wind and the sea. The layers of rock are just amazing - we'd never seen anything like it! There were lots of people there, including a family with a little boy, probably about 8, who kept saying "that doesn't look like pancakes!" He clearly had no imagination!
After the pancake rocks, we headed back to Greymouth and stopped at the Warehouse to pick up a collapsible chilly bin (ice chest), a small knife and some tooth paste. Then to the grocery store to provision for breakfast and lunch for the coming week. So, we're all set for our "tiki tour" down the south island to Queenstown! And we're looking forward to picnics in beautiful sites!
Dinner tonight was Subway, in wraps, rather than rolls, and wine! Yummy!
Tomorrow we are off to Hokitika, and will spend the night there. Our nice motel manager in Greymouth has booked us in to the Bella Vista in Hokitika, so we're all set for a great road trip!

Seat 9a, car L - you can see how grey and overcast it was, and cool too - I wore my windbreaker all the way to Greymouth.

Lee in the same seat, for photo purposes!

The train, heading into a tunnel.

The Southern Alps

This was a stop at Arthur's Pass - the highest part of the trip. Some people left the train there to spend the night - they must have accommodations, but we couldn't see them from the train. The train runs once a day, round trip, from Christchurch.

Pohutukawa trees blooming on the hillside.

One of the lakes on the train trip.

Here we are, at pancake rocks!

Layers of rock - you might have to make these pictures bigger.

Here's a good example of the "pancake" rocks!

Amazing rock formations, along with lots of flax plants.

And more! We couldn't stop taking pictures!

More amazing rock formations.

Me, pancake rocks and the Tasman Sea!

Behind us is a staircase that has been carved into the rock.

The Tasman Sea.

We were so reminded of Hawaii as we drove to the rocks - the vegetation was so dense and lush, and green! There were tons of flax and punga ferns as well as palms - just beautiful!