Christchurch to Greymouth, NZ on TranzAlpine

After a quick overnight in Christchurch, the first order of business in New Zealand was a scenic train ride across the South Island.  The train is called the TranzAlpine and it follows the route below.  Its about a 5 hour ride and passes through lots of different scenery.

I have to say, I love trains and if you haven't been able to tell by now, I'm easily amused.  That said, this train ride, for me, did not live up to expectations.  This train is advertised as one of the top ten train trips in the world, best in New Zealand and all that.  When I compare it to what I saw in the coming days throughout the rest of New Zealand via bus, it really didn't compare.  Yes, it was certainly scenic, but I don't think it is the best scenery in NZ and I wouldn't put it up against say taking a train through the European Alps.  Though I still had a nice time:

Here is some of the scenery we passed crossing the South Island.

It did get better as we got closer the West Coast.  We made a stop at Arthur's Pass which was a little over halfway.

Here are a few more snaps.  As you can see the weather also wasn't the greatest on this day, so that could have impacted my experience.

The train terminated in Greymouth which is on the west coast of the South Island.  For the rest of the South Island, I will travel by bus with overnights in Fox Glacier, Lake Wanaka and Queenstown.  Obviously I'm a little behind in updating the blog, but the scenery that lies ahead I think was quite a bit more spectacular!