Once upon a time, the trains on this line were hauled by steam locomotives. Until the Otira tunnel was built, the train journey was interrupted by a horse coach ride over Arthur’s pass. Then electricity came along, and the Otira tunnel was electrified, solving the problem of dealing with coal fumes from the steam locomotives in a long tunnel. Nowadays the trains are hauled by diesel locomotives all the way.
We start at the west coast, following river valleys towards the main divide. After an hour we reach Lake Brunner.
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| Lake Brunner |
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| Crossing the Crooked River |
Then the train travels southward for another while, in a valley parallel to the Alpine fault. This is a long straight geological fault running parallel to the west coast and is easily recognisable on a topographical map. Then we turn east towards the main divide.
After just over two hours the train arrives at Arthur’s pass. This is where we cross the main divide. As we cross, we go from lush rainThe train doesn’t go over the pass, but through the Otira Tunnel, before arriving at Arthur’s Pass Station. There we disembark for a visit to the national park.
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| Arthur’s Pass Station |
In the morning it’s time for a short walk to a waterfall, going by the resounding name “The Devil’s Punchbowl”
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| The waterfall |
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| Further downstream along the creek |
In the afternoon the train picks us up and we continue to Christchurch.
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| The train is coming! |
The train now continues to the east coast, following rivers downstream. Soon we reach the valley of the Waimakariri River, which flows into the Pacific near Christchurch.
We won’t follow the valley of this river however. Near Cass we turn south to St Bernard Saddle, towards the valley of the Broken River.
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| Looking across the Waimakariri River, to Mount Binser |
When we reach the Broken River, the landscape changes. Until now, we have been travelling through wide valleys, carved out by glaciers. But as the rivers reach the Torlesse Ranges, the large valleys change to narrow and deep gorges, which posed quite a challenge for the railway builders. The train goes through 16 tunnels as it continues downstream to the Canterbury Plains.
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| Entering a tunnel as we reach the Broken River |
From the train we get some spectacular views of the Broken River and Waimakariri gorges.
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| Waimakariri Gorge |
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| Still in the Waimakariri River valley |
By the evening we reach the station in Christchurch, where we will spend the next day in and around the city.
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