After our tour of Auckland Harbour we departed for the airport, simply dropped off the Easter Car Rental Car and walked our stuff over to the domestic terminal - a 10- minute stroll. With time to spare we lined up our day in Christchurch, which was to be a day of train riding on the Tranz Alpine Railway through Arthur's pass to Greymouth and back.
Our flight arrived on time, bags were recovered flawlessly and our airport shuttle was promptly there at the Christchurch airport to receive us and take us to the Windsor Bed and Breakfast. The Windsor is a stately Victorian period private hotel. The very efficient Kiri showed us around - a marvel herself.
We snacked on tea and crackers and settled in to read our guidebooks for the next day. A shuttle would pick us up at 7:05 AM for the train station.
The train ride was magnificent and lived up to its billing.
The photo opportunities are outstanding: river valleys, aquaducts, 16 tunnels, one 8 km long, steep embankments, mountains, sheep, breathtaking scenery.
More images to come:
The early rise time and the energy required to soak all the sights up had its predictable effect
Tomorrow we pick up our camper van and head out on the third leg of our New Zealand adventure.
This shot taken while passing through an 8km long tunnel. It took 20 minutes to get through it.
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