Today, we arose early and traveled by the Trans Alpine Express train to Greymouth on the west coast of NZ. We were at the train station in Christchurch (on the east coast) by 7:45 am, in time to board by 8:00 am. The train traveled over the Canterbury Plain the first third of the total trip, then climbed through the foothills up to Arthur's Pass for the second third of the trip and then cruised down to Greymouth on the western side of what is known as the NZ Alps. The day started out gray and cloudy so we didn't expect good viewing. But the weather improved as we headed west and turned out to be very nice.
The train provided what turned out to be excellent recorded commentary that we listened to with headsets. This commentary was quite informative and ranged over a variety of topics. After a few "episodes" I decided to summarize it as somewhat random bullet points that I have copied into this post.
Train ride on Trans Alpine Express:
· Train departed at 8:10 am; arrived in Greymouth at 1:30 pm. This train service started in 1987, after other routes and services were abandoned, and the highway was fully “sealed” (i.e., paved).
· Canterbury Plain rises from sea level to 1,300 feet before reaching the foothills/mountains.
· The plain produces 60 to 80% the agricultural products for NZ.
· Dairy is most important product on the plain and in the high country. Hereford cattle are brown and white; Angus are mostly all black.
· Hedgerows are dense, tall and frequent for wind breaks.
· Northwesterly winds characterize the area. They can be dry, sucking moisture. Rains come the southerlies off the eastern ocean.
· Waimakariri River started as a glacier that carved the river bed. It is considered a braided river – a braided river has steep slopes and has a high sediment load, creating gravel islands at flat spots. It is a geological river form found in Alaska, Western Canada, and this area of NZ.
· Gorse and Scotch Broom were introduced for hedgerows by English settlers. but are now noxious weeds without natural enemies. The seeds can last 40 years underground and can shoot 40 feet from the plant. The plants can be killed by native species that grow up and form a canopy over the bushes.
· Railway viaducts are steel or timber trestles structures here that are quite high as opposed to European style, flatter, arched, long bridges.
· Beech forests once thrived but were reduced in number with climate change.
· Pacific plate collided (subducted) with Indian Australian plate to create the Alps.
· Broken River Stagecoach region – slow and many turns, narrow ledges falling down to the river.
· High country sheep stations – 99-year leases, poor quality soil, fences not needed, many acres to support a single animal, border collie dogs (two specialties "herders" and "run away)", merino wool from the sheep (Merinos). Declining breed because the market for this wool is down.
· The middle zone of high hills, mostly grass covered, have many stream cuts that allows rock scree to “flow” down, creating wide scree fields when they meet the flat ground; early“ developers” attempted to burn off the tussock – “firing off.” The land receives relatively little water since it lies in the rain shadow of the higher western peaks.
· 10,000 years ago the last glacier ended; it stretched from Springfield to the coast 18,000 years ago.
· Polar Range is the highest and is in Arthur’s Pass National Park
· Town of Cass famous for a “Red house,” painting that hangs in the Christchurch Art Museum - the piece was considered the first "authentic" New Zealand art.
· There is an Ironman Coast to Coast race, which has running, biking and kayaking sections. Record times are 10 and 12.5 hours for men and women, respectively.
· Three million tons of gravel are transported to sea each year by the Waimakariri River.
· Luxury accommodations available at Arthur’s Pass – Bealey Village and there are other posh lodges in the area.
· Kea birds are believed to be very intelligent and curious of humans – olive green with orange under wing. They, along with Kiwis, are found in the Park.
· Arthur Dobson was a surveyor, who with his brother explored 5 passes. He died in 1934. Altitude at Arthur’s Pass train station is 2,700 feet; the pass is 3,000 feet.
· Trees on east side are not good for anything but firewood; trees on west side are very different – they get warmer temperatures and more rain.
· The transmission towers and poles have double I-beam supports from 5 to 10 feet above ground.
· Otira Tunnel descends from the pass just after the Arthur’s Pass Station – it is 8.5 km long and was opened in 1923, then the longest in the Southern Hemisphere.
· After the tunnel, we followed a tributary of the Taramakau River, picking up the main river at Jacksons. The river was the main Māori route from the west to east. The terrane was a wide flat valley where mountain sediment has filled in glacial cuts.
· The Alpine Fault comes in from the southwest and then goes northeast at Inchbonnie, a significant boundary between the two tectonic plates. The fault is visible from space and causes the uplift of the NZ Alps. Uplift is rapid in geological terms at 5 to 7 millimeters per year. Most of the earthquakes occur along this fault line that runs up through Marlborough County and then on to the eastern portion of the North Island. The Indian-Australian plate to the west is very old and was subjected to extreme pressure, moves slowly and has the oldest rocks in NZ.
· Greenstone (jade) is found on the west coast and treasured for carving tikis, etc.
· We passed Lake Brunner, a large lake with a vacation village of second homes and marinas – Moana.
· Podocarps form 90% of the native trees in NZ and are evergreen. They have fleshy cones. Deciduous trees were all introduced -- beeches or birches.
· Mining continues in this area, following late 1860-90 gold rushes. Coal is the principal current product.
Here are a few photos to go along with some of the bullet points above:
Viaduct
Coming into the foothills and first view of the Alps
Scree tracks down the high hills
A very large "slump"
At the Train Station, just before the Otira Tunnel
After arriving in Greymouth (surprisingly warm and sunny) about 1:30, we checked into our hotel and went for a walk across the Grey River and out to the end of the jetty on the north shore. The hotel receptionist said that dolphins might be visible out there (no luck). We walked mostly on a path atop a levee, but just before the jetty, we bypassed a race track that waslsetting up for afternoon races. After the jetty, we returned the way we came except for a diversion around Copban Lagoon inside a natural area (full of blacks swans and grey ducks). We missed the racetrack action, though we could hear it almost all the way back to the bridge.
Contact was made with Jan and Ron, who had arrived mid-afternoon, after driving north from Franz Joseph, along with Varis. Jan and Ron came out to meet us at the bridge as we were returning to town. Varis was resting up in his room. The four of us traversed back over the bridge, and stopped in at Speight's Alehouse for a drink. Varis was called and he walked down the 4 blocks or so from our hotel to join us. After one round, we decided to eat dinner here and moved to the dining room. After the hearty fare, we walked back to our hotel (Copthorne) to await sunset, which is supposed to be spectacular. More on that tomorrow.
