Christchurh -> Greymouth -> Franz Josef

  Greymouth, New Zealand
Wednesday, November 15, 2006

The TranzAlpine
note: eticket booking opens as early as 3mths before departure date. Book early to enjoy great savings. We were entitled to " Saver with Child 40%" discount. Our spending: Total: $611.00 (Fare: adult $91 / child $78)

We would depart CHC for Greymouth on the TranzAlphine. A mini-van pickup was provided by TranzAlphine, conveniently in front of YMCA. Train departure time in CHC was 8.15am and arrival in Greymouth was 12.45 pm.


TranzAlphine is rated as one of the world's great scenic railway journeys! True to its promise, our train ride provided great comfort and scenic views throughout the whole journey that passed through the fields of the Canterbury Plains and farmland, followed by the spectacular gorges and river valleys of the Waimakariri River. Our train had a 15mins stop at the Arthur's Pass and continued to climb into the Southern Alps before descending through lush beech rain forest to the West Coast town of Greymouth - our starting point to the glaciers.

Linus collected our 8 seater TOYOTA PREVIA from Hertz ( 110.40 NZD per day, excl tax), carplate: DBP224. Then, we went into Subway for a quick lunch and started our self-drive journey, estimated to take 2.5hrs/177km to reach Franz Josef Glacier in Westland Ntl Park.

Hokitika
Hokitika is a town 1/2 hr from Greymouth. We made a pit-stop there and visited a Jade Factory before setting off to our destination - Franz Josef Top 10 Holiday Park, lodging for the day.
An unexpected traffic jam along the way... caused by cows returning to their farm 1km down the road....just needed 1 farmer in front and 1 at the back, on scooters to gather the 100 cows.

Top 10 Holiday Park
Our unit was a Own ensuite, with share lodge communal kitchen & dining area. The holiday park is amazing well kept and we had spaghatti for dinner.

The town center is just a 5mins drive away and we went to a few shops offering glacier and helicopter hikes to book our activities for the next day. The weather forecast for the next day did not look good. In fact, wind and rain would be expected in the morning. Helicopter trips were available but there would not have glacier landing while glacier trips were opened only to adults because high rainfall that day had flood the river to knee length. I knew that would disappoint Xav & Cla, but due to safety reason, we only booked a ' Half Day Glacier Experience' for Linus, CS and myself.