TranzAlpine train ride!

We all woke up early, packed the rest of our suitcases and caught a taxi to the train station for our TranzAlpine ride.  The TranzAlpine train is voted one of the most beautiful train rides in the world as it winds throught the mountain ranges of the Southern Alps, farmland, and ending in the rain forest of the east coast.  The four and a half hour ride included 16 tunnels, and 5 viaducts, one at 73 metres tall (the cathedral in Christchurch could fit underneath it!).  Basically we traveled from the east coast of the south island to the west coast.  Unfortunately the yucky weather had not yet lifted, so the ride was a bit less scenic than we had hoped.  Fortunately, we had our own table at the back of one of the cars (closest to the café) where we were able to sprawl out and relax while enjoying the scenery.  There was even an open air car where we stopped several times to get some good pictures and feel the windy breeze.  In no time at all, we arrived in Greymouth to pick up our KiwiExperience bus tour.

After a quick café lunch, we hauled our luggage back to the train platform to pick up the bus.  KiwiExperience is a bus service aimed towards young backpackers and travellers wishing to pack as much of a NZ experience into a short amount of time.  We chose the service in hopes that we wouldn't have to work as hard at planning our activities, and for the many promised discounts, freebies, and unique experiences.  As we sat on the platform in the pouring, blowing rain, waiting for the bus that was an hour late, we befriended two French Canadian girls setting off on the same journey, and an older Aussie woman.  As the green buses finally arrived (2 giant coaches), we dragged the luggage to meet them, climb on, and set off (hopefully).  Much to our surprise, we were required to wait in the rain while the driver briefed the current passengers that were already on the bus and collected money from them for their upcoming night's hostel stay.  We waited, incredibly impatiently and cold and wet, until finally, the laid-back twentysomething driver hopped off the bus to greet us.  Jokingly (or so I thought) his first comment was about the lack of room on the bus...no seats left, asking us if we had booked in advance (which of course we had).  All six of us from the train were told there were no seats on the bus, we would have to sit in the aisle, and there would be no beds at the already overbooked hostel in the middle of nowhere that we were to stay our first night, and that people would be required to camp (in the rain?! No thank you!).  We ended up spending the next hour in the rain trying to figure the situation out.  Luckily, the six of us (we grew close fast) stuck together and insisted that the company make alternate arrangements to allow us to move one day forward on our itinerary so that we would have somewhere to sleep and a way to get there.  We rode for an hour in the aisle of the first bus to the original destination, where another van picked up the six of us to take us to the next destination and pay for our overnight stay.  We were tired, cold, and ultimately frustrated that the first day of our supposed KiwiExperience was off to a very unenjoyable start!

Waiting in the rain...and waiting...and waiting...



We had a quiet dinner in Franz Joseph, with our three new friends, and settled in for a long sleep after an even longer day.