Day 8 – January 1 (2024!):
As I mentioned, the hotel in Christchurch was less then awesome and that was fine since we were there for such a short time. Today, after getting to bed after midnight, we had to be up by 6:30am and out the door to grab breakfast and get a ride to the train station. Here, we boarded the TranzAlpine rail way to traverse the country and end up on the west coast in the town of Greymouth. Good time to finally rest and enjoy the views which were indeed spectacular through the mountains and along the river ways. The train cars were comfortable with big windows and had a café car and an open “viewing” car to take the pictures. In-total, 5 hours on the train which was a great way to take it all in. From there, we got another rental car and drove a couple/few hours to Franz Joseph / Fox Glacier. I think I said this about Rotorua too, but Franz Joseph was entirely built for adventure. Nothing but store after store to hike, fly, jump, or whatever in the area. Which is cool because this place requires much exploring. A quick note on the drive here…Lombard Street has nothing on these highways. Super windy descents/ascents along these massively (impressive) cliffs and mountains. Our Motel was in Fox Glacier just outside the main town and was perfect for this stop (not as nice, but cute). We got dinner at the single place that was open and called it a night before the next days activities.
New Zealand Day 9
As I mentioned, the hotel in Christchurch was less then awesome and that was fine since we were there for such a short time. Today, after getting to bed after midnight, we had to be up by 6:30am and out the door to grab breakfast and get a ride to the train station. Here, we boarded the TranzAlpine rail way to traverse the country and end up on the west coast in the town of Greymouth. Good time to finally rest and enjoy the views which were indeed spectacular through the mountains and along the river ways. The train cars were comfortable with big windows and had a café car and an open “viewing” car to take the pictures. In-total, 5 hours on the train which was a great way to take it all in. From there, we got another rental car and drove a couple/few hours to Franz Joseph / Fox Glacier. I think I said this about Rotorua too, but Franz Joseph was entirely built for adventure. Nothing but store after store to hike, fly, jump, or whatever in the area. Which is cool because this place requires much exploring. A quick note on the drive here…Lombard Street has nothing on these highways. Super windy descents/ascents along these massively (impressive) cliffs and mountains. Our Motel was in Fox Glacier just outside the main town and was perfect for this stop (not as nice, but cute). We got dinner at the single place that was open and called it a night before the next days activities.
New Zealand Day 9
