TranzAlpine: Moana - Arthur's Pass

TranzAlpine, July 24th 2015

Saying goodbye to Lake Brunner.

Crooked River

Why didn't Thomas Brunner name this river after his as well? Uhm.

Lake Brunner Road, maybe.

I'm not sure if this was exactly that Lake Brunner Road, but TranzAlpine does run along Lake Brunner Rd., departs for awhile and meets again. After several lakes passed by, the road is still Lake Brunner Rd. Out of curiosity, I checked out the map, that road is approximately 32.9 km long. Uhm.

A house matching the mountain top :D

Do you know that trees do gossipp... too? Here's how they look when they do so.

Lake Poerua

Pardon me, I'm just fascinated by that long white glitter on Lake Poerua's surface.

 

Eye Lake... hahaha. No one said so. Looking at this photo from a distance, it looks like something (somebody?) seen from the side, wearing a cap. Ah. never mind.

I bet, that brown one is the bull. 

Taramakau River

Look! The pebbles are reddish too here. Trentepohlia algae.

A review of what I had learned in Arthur's Pass.

Running through Otira Tunnel under the Southern Alps, passengers were not allowed on the viewing carriage. Time for a little something.

My first ice cream in New Zealand.

 Frankly speaking, it's too sweet.

Lamb shanks.

This one was okay.

At Arthur's Pass a big group of tourists got on.

They were fashionable, outmatching the Kiwis.
They were loud.
Undoubtedly excited.

At Christchurch, a huge tourist bus was already waiting.
From my shuttle bus I heard,
"See you one day in J Town!"
(not in English).

A lady siting behind me sighed to her husband,
"Oh! Those kids! They were so noisy inside the carriage."

Sometimes, being abroad,
it's good to keep in mind:
I am a guest.

TranzAlpine: Greymouth - Moana

TranzAlpine, July 24th 2015

Back on TranzAlpine again. The same revise route, but the opposite weather. Good weather = good pictures (to my own judgment) = endless shots. I can't imagine if there hadn't been a digital era. Anyway, I have to divide the pictures into several posts which I don't know yet how many posts they will take. We'll see.

The blue Grey River :D

Seriously, the name is "Grey". It was named by Thomas Brunner after a prominent New Zealand politician, Sir George Grey. Thomas Brunner himself has his "own lake". That's coming up.

Departing Grey River for awhile, we run through farmlands.

Hello again, Grey River.

I just love the reflection of that white cotton cloud on the river surface.

On the right is the viewing carriage.

Brunner Bridge

Okay, so the first European to visit Greymouth was Thomas Brunner. According to Wikipedia, Brunner discovered coal in the Grey valley, and several places in the region (notably the town of Brunner and Lake Brunner) bear his name. Remember the coal cart in front of Monteith's Brewery? The West Coast of New Zealand is everything about coal and gold. Brunner Mine, was one. And Brunner Bridge, was no doubt to support the work.

Brunner Mine is now a tourist destination which can be checked here.

Running on the left is State Highway.

 

Arnold River

Can you see the ducks swimming?

Lake Brunner, here we come.

Yet another tourist destination.

Ferns. The symbol of New Zealand.

In summer, with the sails opened, Lake Brunner would be double colorful.

 I can picture that, in mind.

Moana Train Station

Phew. What a hard time it had been.

I mean, a hard time selecting which pictures to post. :D

And yet, let alone to Christchurch, this is not even half way to Arthur's Pass!!

Aotearoa Wonderland

Through and out Aotearoa, July 22nd 2015

In case you haven't been with me from the start, may I share with you that,
Aotearoa is the Maori name for the country of New Zealand. The literal translation of Aotearoa is "land of the long white cloud".

Before I arrived in New Zealand, I thought Aotearoa was merely an expression.  When I saw the photos on a travel blog, I thought it was merely a coincidence. Or maybe, something like the animal kiwi. It does exist, it's New Zealand's icon. However, you need luck to encounter a wild kiwi (not in captivity). I can assure you now, your chances to encounter a looong, very long, white cloud in New Zealand is ten times higher than to encounter a wild kiwi. I have examined friends' photo albums of New Zealand, and found that Aotearoa was in at least one of the photos, either the friend captured it intentionally or unintentionally. You even can witness it before landing. I did, a friend of mine did, too.

Nevertheless, riding on TranzAlpine from Christchurch to Arthur's Pass brought me goosebumps. I never dreamed I would be that close with Aotearoa. My train rolled into that looong, very long, white cloud.

Approaching Aotearoa, the (land of) long white cloud.

View from the viewing carriage. The white cloud is longer than my train :D

That line on the ride is a road, for vehicles.

Winding into Aotearoa.

My note: I didn't set my camera into black-and-white mode. Nor did I edit this into monochrome. Probably, the bright sun through the white cloud have caused this Aotearoa effect. Aha.

It has been said: Wonderland.

 

 

 

 

Do you see that reddish brown on the stones on bottom left? That was my next wonder -- after so many -- about NZ.

Arriving in Arthur's Pass soon. I'll tell you about the stones there! No, no, it's not gold. Errr... you'd better subscribe :D