We had a very early start to arrive at the Christchuch Railway Station in time for our trip from Christchurch to Greymouth, one of the world's most beautiful scenic train rides.
All aboard the Tranz Scenic!!
We had comfy seats facing each other with a table between us. The seating reminded me of our bus tour through Italy about ten years ago.
There were open air observation cars in the front and back of the train. It was FREEZING! Remember it is winter time in New Zealand during the U.S. summer.
Here's our train wrapping around the bend, taken from the back observation car.
We went through 19 tunnels, which hit quickly and easily could have dismembered anyone too close to the edge. The longest tunnel took about 15 minutes to pass through.
The scenery along the way was breathtaking with lots of snow capped mountains.
We had a couple short stops along the way to get off and snap pictures.
The Sorenson women: Mom, Katie, me, and Lisa
Here we are at Arthurs Pass, midway between Christchurch and Greymouth.
Even in winter, here's a very green pasture with no snow!
The clouds started dropping down and our good weather was threatened but prevailed.
Temo, the entertainer, was a loud and precocious 4-year old that found a special connection with our family, perhaps because we were egging him on. He told us all about his plans to be a pilot and how loud airplanes can be as he let out an earth curdling scream which caught the attention of everyone in our cabin. The train ride was beautiful and we arrived in Greymouth ready to make our way down the western coast of NZ. I was designated as the family driver, given my recent experience driving on the 'wrong side' of the road.
We drove to Franz Josef and checked into Glenfern Villas, where we were greeted with a complimentary bottle of wine for each room. My mom thought she could stay a while. We then headed into town to explore our options for the following day.
We booked the whole family in for a heli-hike of Franz Josef the next day. Plan was to get geared up in proper attire and the above clamp-ons, then get helicoptered into a high point on the glacier (more blue caves), and hike around for a couple hours before being helicoptered back out. Unfortunately, the gloomy overcast weather foiled our plan.
Katie, Mom, me, and Lisa in Franz Josef.
A long arm family photo in Franz Josef.
After a pizza dinner at Blue Ice, we went to the Glacier Hot Pools in the rain.
What silhouettes!
Mom, Dad, Lisa, and Katie are anxious to get out of the cold into the hot pools.
The pools were absolutely beautiful, surrounded by a rainforest and covered with canopies, which was helpful in the rain.
We went from an outdoor temperature of 14 degrees C to a water temperature of 40 degrees C - much better but I could have gone hotter!
We stopped for a quick photo by the ice glacier entrance after a dip in the hot pools. Then it was off to bed.
