[LCA2019 Chat] Stopping somewhere during the Tranzalpine Journey?

[Marc MERLIN]

Thanks all for the answers

So, let me summarize.

The timing looks like this:
8:15 am		CHRISTCHURCH
8:33 am 8:34 am	ROLLESTON
8:55 am 8:56 am	DARFIELD
9:19 am 9:20 am	SPRINGFIELD
10:51 am 10:52 am	ARTHUR'S PASS
11:26 am 11:26 am	OTIRA
12:05 pm 12:06 pm	MOANA
1:05 pm 2:05 pm	GREYMOUTH
3:02 pm 3:03 pm	MOANA
3:50 pm 3:51 pm	OTIRA
4:27 pm 4:28 pm	ARTHUR'S PASS
5:38 pm 5:39 pm	SPRINGFIELD
5:58 pm 5:59 pm	DARFIELD
6:15 pm 6:16 pm	ROLLESTON
6:31 pm		CHRISTCHURCH

Several votes for Arthur's Pass. I think most people were saying that
it'w worth doing as a day trip, and basically get out at Arthur's Pass,
at 10:52, do stuff around there until 16:27 when the train comes back
(apparently make sure it's booked or it won't stop), giving me 5h30
there, which is a good amount.

Some of you said missing Arthur's Pass to Greymouth (2h20 or so) is
unfortunate, but not essential. Is that correct?

On Thu, Jan 10, 2019 at 02:50:45AM +0000, brett at davidson.gen.nz wrote:
> Depends on what you like to do. Arthurs pass has a great set of walks
> you could do. Other than that, not sure if there is anything worth
> stopping for.

Kind of a hard question, but are those walks complementary with those
I'll already have done, namely:
- milford track
- routeburn
- kepler
or it'll be a bit more redundant and I should just let my wife enjoy
some bubbly drink in the train all the way to greymouth and back?


On Fri, Jan 11, 2019 at 09:06:30AM +1300, John Carter wrote:
> It you're more a relax with a beer and admire the scenery from a train
> sort.. apparently the Tranzalpine is one of the best (I'm told by those
> into that sort  of thing)... but I suspect what you can do at Arthur's will
> then be driven by the train timetable.

I just finished hiking the routeburn and going to the kepler track as I
write this. I'm not afraid of hiking, but trying to see what makes the
most sense. You do cover a lot more ground with the train.

> Last time I went to Greymouth I was singularly unimpressed by it. To me it
> is around the least interesting part of the westcoast.

On the plus side, the train only stops 1h there, so I'm not too worried
if it's not that great :)

> The wetcoast is great (but wet).... Greymouth.... not so much (but still
> fairly wet). .. but I should imagine the trip to and from Greymouth would
> be nice.

I stopped at Atika last time, it was fun (sadly only 30mn)
http://marc.merlins.org/perso/nz2015/post_2015-02-01_New-Zealand-Day-23_-10_5H-bus-ride-from-Nelson-to-Fox-Glacier.html


On Thu, Jan 10, 2019 at 08:00:53PM +1300, Ewen McNeill wrote:
> and both of them (Otira, Moana) are request stops, as is Arthur's Pass. Ie,
> you'd have to specifically book to go to/from there, otherwise the train
> won't stop.
>
> I believe both are *tiny* settlements (Otira -- population 45:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otira, Moana -- population about 250:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moana,_New_Zealand).

I'm not worried about skipping those towns, I don't have time to get off
the train and see them anyway, more whether I miss out by not doing
Arthur's pass to Greymouth and back, or not.

> For all three (Arthur's Pass, Otira, Moana) I suspect you'd want a specific
> reason to stop, probably involving hiking or similar.  Of the three my guess
> would be Arthur's Pass (another *tiny* village, but a bit tourist focused:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur%27s_Pass), or maybe Moana for Lake
> Brunner, if you found a specific walk you wanted to do.  Seems like you
> could maybe get 4 hours or so between trains if you got off in Arthur's
> Pass.

5h30 even.

> PS: Of note, Christchurch is *still* rebuilding after the earthquakes some
> years ago caused much of the central city to be pulled down. There's not as
> much "tourist focused" things to do in central Christchurch as their used to
> be.  But there's plenty in "day trip" / "afternoon trip" driving distance of
> central Christchurch / the University of Canterbury area (which is outside
> central Christchurch), so renting a car to explore might be a good use of
> extra days.

Noted, thanks.

On Thu, Jan 10, 2019 at 07:09:31PM +1300, rossd at snap.net.nz wrote:
> Lake Moana is a good spot. This is near Greymouth with walking
> tracks.
> http://golakebrunner.co.nz/walks/
>
> If the Grey River is in
> flood and your visit co-insides with high tide continue to Greymouth
> walk along the sea wall to the mouth and be amazed at the fishing boats
> crossing the bar.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huhEWxW4XFE

Ok, so one vote for going farther, thanks :)

On Thu, Jan 10, 2019 at 05:13:32PM +1300, hamster at snap.net.nz wrote:
> Have a look at stopping at Arthur's Pass.
> It is a small township in the middle of the national park (of the same name).
> Walk to the Punchbowl falls, see the visitor's center, have a coffee and cake in the cafe. Warning - the hills are steep!
> The only downside is you don't get to see the West Coast rainforest.

Yep, that's what I'm struggling right right now.

Thanks,
Marc
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