Transalpine train

We took the transalpine train from christchurch to greymouth through the mountains. This is reputed to be one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world and it was very lovely, just slightly obscured by clouds. Still it's romantic to sit and have breakfast on a train while the countryside rolls by.

We had a very well informed journey. New Zealanders seemingly like to keep people abreast of progress, or the lack thereof, and every slightest halt was accompanied by a detailed explanation for the 30 second delay. (As opposed to brum where you can be stuck 200m outside New street station for 45minutes without the smallest crackle from the tanoy). They also saw fit to remind us quite seriously that disembarking at these points would be a hazard to our health due to the lack of a platform.

At Greymouth we continued by coach through some stunning scenery and snow capped mountains. The bus driver kept us entertained with a running commentary and even a relevant documentary on CD.

Fantastic hostel. We splurged on a twin room, the only privacy we've had in months! They had real beds, not bunks, and they were (next to my own bed) the most comfortable in the world. It's fortunate that we hadn't booked twins before since Luce and I are quite capable (and lazy enough) to lie in our beds reading, eating anzac cookies, and not leaving our room at all. We tried to offset the extra cost for the room by cooking our own dinner- not entirely a success as it occurred to us to chop the veg after we'd cooked it and misjudged the pasta and did enough for twenty.