Christchurch. Transz. Alpine Express

Has anyone cruising in New Zealand taken the train ride on the Transz Alpine Express into the "Southern Alps". I know it's a long day and rather expensive, but is it worth it. Please advise. We are considering that as our land tour when our ship goes there.

Heres a link to Terry's excellent review of his cruise .The trip on the Tranz Alpine begins with post No 296.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=41731113&highlight=tranz+alpine#post41731113

It is a long day but the scenery is definitely worth it.

Tranz Alpine | Train Tickets Online

http://www.traintickets.co.nz/

Train Tickets Online, book your Tranz Alpine train tickets today!

Greymiuth is pretty dull however it's only a lunch stop before returning to the train. Enjoy!

Caveat Emptor . Cruise ship arrivals and departures at Christchurch do NOT usually allow sufficient time to travel on the Tranz Alpine Express to Greymouth and back on the normal public timetabled service.

Your ship berths in time to get the train to Greymouth. BUT by the time it gets back to Christchurch your boat will have sailed.

The only way to do it is via the Ships Tranz Alpine Shore Excursion where you travel one way to Arthurs Pass by road coach and return by train, or out by train and return via coach . The cruise lines charter a special Tranz Alpine service which runs to fit in with the ships arrival and departure time and does only the most scenic part between Arthurs Pass and Christchurch. An added bonus is that the ships Tranz Alpine departs and arrives from shipside .

We did it from Greymouth to Christchurch. Was underwhelmed after all I had read about it.

I enjoyed the trip and am very glad that I did it. We went by rail and returned via bus.

The return trip by bus was made very enjoyable because the tour that I was on stopped for a delicious Roast Lamb lunch in a paddock on a family farm.

Great trip!

I will be on the Dec. 9, 2014 Celebrity Soltice cruise out of Auckland. I want to take the Trans alpine Express tour.

My question: Is it likely I will have an opportunity to see the famous kea parrots that frequent arthur's pass or will I be herded quickly off to the sheep farm?

I will be on the Dec. 9, 2014 Celebrity Soltice cruise out of Auckland. I want to take the Trans alpine Express tour. My question: Is it likely I will have an opportunity to see the famous kea parrots that frequent arthur's pass or will I be herded quickly off to the sheep farm?

We did not see that interesting bird while doing the Tranz Alpine trip, but here is one of my pictures of it while doing the Queenstown overnight trip with Celebrity Solstice. Below is is that picture right after we passed through a tunnel between Milford Sound and Queenstown.

Are you considering doing the Queenstown overnight trip? Many more details on my full live/blog. Happy to answer any other questions.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 76,338 views for this fun posting.

While doing our Queenstown overnight ship excursion, here is this bird that we encountered at a dramatic mountain/waterfall setting on the other side of the key tunnel used to access this remote area of NZ's South Island. The bird is a Kea or mountain parrot. These bird can be playful, intelligent and rather creative/damaging!!:

Heres a link to Terry's excellent review of his cruise .The trip on the Tranz Alpine begins with post No 296.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=41731113&highlight=tranz+alpine#post41731113

Appreciate this nice "plug" from Kiwi Kruzer.

As noted in the live/blog below, we traveled these great areas in January and February. We did the Tranz Alpine ride combined with a JetBoat adventure. Super loved that experience!! Yes, the rail, if just sitting in the regular passenger car, might be only so-so for some tastes/styles during parts of the journey. Part of the trip was covering fairly flat, average areas. Once we got to the mountain areas, things were much more interesting and unique.

I did a large part of the trip in the front, open observation car that allowed for a greater range of amazing visuals and super photo opportunities. Below are only a few of my examples, plus a couple from the JetBoat excitement. Loved being in and around these mountains, seeing the water/river action, etc.

There were seven couples in our travel group from Central Ohio. Check out these live/blog postings for more info/background on these great ports, wonderful sights, etc.

In Dunedin, we saw the Taieri Gorge Railway train cars in their wonderful and historic rail station. We did the Queenstown overnight trip and did not have the opportunity/time to do this rail trip from Dunedin. Earlier, prior to the cruise's start, we rode a scenic/historic rail trip from Cairns into the Rainforest, etc. Only can do so many train trips. Need to see what best fits your needs and interests. Many options to consider in these spectacular regions.

Let me know any added info needs/interests.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 76,338 views for this fun posting.

First is one of my visuals that gives a little sampling for the spectacular Waimakariri River gorge seen from the Tranz Alpine Rail trip. Great "drama" in this aspect of the trip, especially with the blue waters that we would later travel "up-close-and-personal" via a JetBoat trip.:

This second picture gives an idea for the view from the outdoor viewing platform near the front of this train. It had a covered roof but open sides to create an ideal location to take photos from the train. No photo glare from trying to shoot through a window. I spent most the time through the mountains in this location.:

Yes, there was snow on some of the mountain tops in this part of NZ, even during the summer time. The blue water are part of scenic nature for this park and its nearby area. The mix of steep gorges and wide braided rivers straddle the main divide. Below are three more visual samples from here and captured during our late January 2014 trip.:

With the NZ JetBoat, we loved the THRILLS doing these fast, roaring shots up and down this narrow and scenic section of this river. I was fortunately seated right behind our excellent driver, Greg Peacock. I didn't get very wet, but those on the right side got more of the "showers". No extra charge. But, nobody got too wet. It was all part of the fun. At a couple points during our about 25-minute trip on the river, Greg stopped at a scenic location in this river/gorge to give us more background on these boats, experiences in doing this work since 1998 for him, etc. These Hamilton Jet Boats were developed around 1960, including work done at this site to perfect the design and test the models/designs. Notice the great background/dramatic areas that we were "sailing" up and down?:

Here is a picture that my wife loved. Notice her hands and those of others in our row super tightly gripping the safety bar? That says so much about the speed and thrills while roaring up and down this amazing stretch of scenic river near Christchurch. I showed my wife this picture (and several others like this one of her where the wind was blowing her hair in the opposite direction). She liked this picture so much, that she said to put this one in her obituary (not that this need is upcoming anytime soon). It showed her having fun and she said this ride was the most fun of the whole cruise/trip. We had lots of great moments on this trip, but one was a unique and special ride in a location that is spectacularly world-class. And, perfect weather with good friends added to the great joy!!: