Day Eighteen … Not quite the adventure we had planned

Today was an adventure that Ian had planned with great glee. When we were finalising our plans for this trip we realised that in travelling from Cape Reinga to Stewart Island (NZ top to bottom) we hadn’t gone to the northern most tip of the South Island, and because we have done NZ in two trips we hadn’t crossed the Cook Strait. So Ian concocted this plan to catch the Coastal Pacific train from Christchurch to Picton, then catch the Interislander Ferry from Picton to Wellington, and then catch a plane from Wellington back to Christchurch … all in one day!

Well … it turns out this grand adventure was not to be. We were up super early to meet our taxi driver from yesterday (Arun) at 6.00 am for the drive to the Christchurch Railway Station. Interestingly, the station is not in the centre of the city and the current station is the third one to have been built. We arrived and checked in to collect our boarding passes (no luggage for this day trip) and it was at this point that our day became interesting.

The check in agent told Ian that normally they would be able to provide us with our boarding passes all the way through to Wellington. However, last Saturday afternoon (5 pm) the Kaitaki ferry suffered engine loss as it crossed the Cook Strait leaving it stranded (with passengers on board). The ferry was eventually assisted to Wellington via tugs and arrived in at 9 pm. During the time when it was drifting, despite having dropped anchor, in very rough seas in the Strait it came close to rocks. So … there is a ferry (our intended ferry) out of action, and at the time of our check in it was uncertain what would be happening, although they believed the ferry would be back in action.  

Press photo below … tug boat towing the stricken ferry 😳

So we boarded the train, a little uncertain about what the day would look like. The train, just like yesterday is fabulous. This journey was along the Pacific coast but the scenery was extremely varied as we travelled. We passed through pasture, sheep and dairy farming, rolling mountains, right beside the coast, past (and through) small towns, beside salt lakes, and through gorges, mountains ranges and forestry plantations. Again we had an outdoor viewing compartment and we spent a fair amount of time out there (getting blown away) enjoying the views. During the journey we travelled through 20 tunnels with the longest being about 897 metres.

Photos on our way to Picton …

About 2 hours into our journey our train manager announced that Kaitaki was not returning to service today and that the remaining two ferries were running extra services to hopefully aid as many travellers to make the crossing as possible. We had now been booked onto a 6.30 pm ferry, arriving in to Wellington at about 9.30 pm. This meant we would miss our 8.35 pm plane flight back to Christchurch. 

So furious internet scrambling occurred … well, sporadic internet searching occurred as the internet is not overly reliable on a train passing through gorges. We checked if we could get tickets on the alternative Bluebridge Ferries … all sold out. We checked to see if there were flights from Picton or Blenheim to Christchurch … all sold out. We checked if we could hire a car to drive back to Christchurch … all (and I mean all because we checked every hire car company) sold out. The ferry outage is obviously playing havoc with the rhythm of life in Picton.

This left us with a slight dilemma. We were sitting on a train travelling to Picton, a journey that takes about 5 and a half hours. All of our luggage, passports, and personal belongings were in a hotel room awaiting our return tonight. AND, and perhaps most importantly, we fly home out of Christchurch tomorrow afternoon. So the question was … how do we get back to Christchurch?

In the end the only option was to finish the train journey to Picton, enjoy an hour in Picton and then get right back onto the train that we had just travelled up on. Phoebe our On Board Manager was great … she called ahead to arrange for us to have tickets back on the train and, because it was their error, we were able to travel for free on our return trip. So problem solved … another 5 and a half hours on a train looking at beautiful scenery. The missed connections we will resolve later.

So we arrived into Picton and used our time to complete an Ad Lab of some of the historic sights including the Rowing Sheds, the Bank of New Zealand, the theatre, the original shipping company and an old whaling boat. We wandered up and down the Main Street, along the waterfront and through a small park. We grabbed some lunch from the Four Square (a chain of independently owned and operated supermarkets) where they stock pre-made sandwiches and wraps, salads, pies and cakes.

We returned to the train, took our new seats, ate our lunch and settled in for the journey home. Ian messaged Arun who was going to be picking us up from the airport and bless his cotton socks he said he would be waiting at the station for us when we arrived in this evening. We heard from one of the train attendants that about 26 people were booked on this train but were no shows … because they are stuck in Wellington unable to get across the Strait.

A few highlights of our journeys …

A young Canadian couple on our Picton bound train were telling the people seated opposite, and indirectly us, that they got married 2 days ago on the spur of the moment. They had been travelling in NZ and decided they should just go for it so got married on a mountain top with some sheep. They plan to have a party when they get home.

As we travelled alongside the ocean we spied dolphins leaping out of the ocean, seals sunbathing on the craggy rocks, and when you turned to look out the other side you saw paddocks filled with deer rapidly fleeing from the sound of the train rushing by.

As you travel along in the open air viewing carriage you get blown away by the wind, the smell of the diesel and the sound of the engine roaring in your ears. If you wave to anyone waiting for the train to pass, no matter how old they are, they almost always wave back.

On our journey to Picton there were two young children who, when they went to the outdoor carriage, were concerned about the cicadas that would accidentally fly into the carriage. So they spent their entire time collecting the stranded cicadas in their hands and freeing them again over the open sides. Cute but creepy! Especially when they walked along with multiple cicadas resting in their palms.

On our return trip to Christchurch we had a patch of very slow movement … train delay caused by a wayward flock of sheep on the track and a frantic and frazzled farmer trying to gather them all back together off the track.

A special drink created by the train route builders when the line was being built in the 1940s in an area that bhad been declared a “dry” zone. The Parnassus Cocktail which contained methylated spirits, Baxters Lung Preserver, pain killers and Worcestershire Sauce. Mmmmmm … delicious!

Finally …

And so … at 8.00 pm we are back in our hotel room. We can safely say that we have seen the east coast quite thoroughly now. We have listened to the commentary twice and one lady on the train asked if we were going to quiz each other later to see what we remembered. We have laughed … there is no point being down about it. We were together, we had fun, we saw beautiful things.

Return photos … later in the day … different lighting

Today’s tally … 

Photos taken … 427

Steps walked … 7,448 (not bad when you have been on a train for 11+ hrs)

Kms walked … 5.7 km

Trains travelled on … 2

Tunnels taken … 40

Interislander ferries travelled on … 🙄