New Zealand is known for its scenic journeys. There are a number of recommended train, drive, ferry journeys that you should consider doing when travelling here. For international travellers, this may be a bit more challenging as you’re in the country for a short period of time and you’d like to pack in as much sightseeing as possible. But if there is the slightest chance you can fit one of these journeys in, you absolutely must. For the local travellers, I suppose you could always plan specific trips to incorporate some of these journeys. One such journey is the TranzAlpine.

The Tranz Alpine is a daily service that departs from Christchurch around 8 am (if memory serves me right) and make its way to Greymouth. This journey one way is roughly 4-hours. Many travellers prefer doing the full journey departing from Christchurch and back to Christchurch on the same day. However, you do have the option to get off on one of the stops like Moana or Rolleston. They have a range of pricing options available and it varies depending on the season.

This journey, as the name suggests (Alpine), is through the mountains. The views throughout the journey are amazing. Though I do feel, that this journey in peak winter in New Zealand will be amazing, as it will be a winter wonderland with snow everywhere.

The journey is quite smooth and quite an easy one to do. The train has a café on board with hot and cold meal options, drinks, coffees and snacks. There is also a carriage which is designed specifically for lookouts. There are no seats in this carriage, just some space to look out the window and feel the breeze and see the sights and take pictures.

The train stops at Arthurs Pass, for 5-10minutes allowing passengers to get off the train and take photos. It is quite windy here, as it’s at an elevation of 740m above sea level. This place also looks beautiful when there’s snowfall. During our journey on the Tranz Alpine, though it wasn’t in peak winter, it was on a weekend where the forecast was to expect an Antarctic blast, the temperatures had dropped resulting in a snowfall here. We don’t get snowfall in Auckland, and there have only been a handful of occasions where I’ve experienced light snowfall (apart from when I was visiting mountains in Switzerland), so getting to experience this was absolutely incredible.

This is what I love about travelling. Even if you’re going back to the same place that you’ve visited before, there are so many experiences waiting to happen. They could be good or they could be bad. Either way, it tugs on your heart strings and no matter the experience, you learn and grow from it and it makes you a better person.

Sorry got a bit emotional there. If you get the chance, I do recommend this trip. It’s fun for all ages and there’s enough food and snacks to keep the kids entertained.

Until next time,

MiliG