Coastal explorer-just wow!

Taking a train in NZ is a novelty as there are very few other than commuter trains around cities. The Coastal Explorer took us from Christchurch to Picton. Wow and wow describes the journey. A very early start for us saw us leaving on the train at 7am. It was so worth it, catching the sunrise and the mist in the valleys added to the spectacular scenery.

The commentary was informative and amusing at times. Many places are named after former prime ministers of NZ although my favourite was Scargill Point. Another was a little hamlet that was to be named after some dignatry of the time; however, when asked if he would name the place his humble response was no not I. The hamlet is now called Nonoti!

When the train hit the coast the excitement intensified and we left the comfort of our seats to stand and ride in the open air carriage. It was so worth it. We were treated to pods of dolphins jumping and playing, a hump back whale showing off his tail and of course the seemingly ubiquitous seals sunning themselves on the rocks. You will have to take my word for it as no photos captured the wildlife at sea just those of us in the carriage!

Added entertainment was supplied by a Toronto film crew who were filming for Canada’s discovery channel. In about a year we may be in the background of the programme-fame at last!

The Kaikoura earthquake had a dramatic effect on both the land and sea. The white rocks in the pictures used to be under the sea.

The road is still going through major construction to repair the damage. Single file traffic in many places resulting in long traffic jams but if you have to stop on a journey it’s good to have a view!

And so ended our journey in the South. There are differences especially in the deep south. People seem to have more time for you. When they ask ‘how’s your day been’ or ‘how are you’ they expect a conversation to contiue not just the cursory ‘good’ that we in the North use. Consequently I know more about some of the shop keepers and their families from places I visited once compared to those I see every week at New World.

And on to Wellington a city we have visited numerous times. A brief visit but we discovered new places and decided to sample some local craft brews and the best ever salted caramel cookie- apparently world famous in NZ. Was pretty good though!