Almanac Travel: Training is the way to go between Tests in New Zealand

TRAINING IS THE WAY TO GO

 

For me to be thinking about ‘training’ makes me sweat but this training would be hard to beat anywhere in the world.

 

Instead of leaving my ‘wealth’ to relatives and on my wife’s advise “you can’t take it with you!” I decided to travel the slow way from the North Island to the South Island of New Zealand.

 

Firstly the ferry from Wellington to Picton. Can’t tell you much about it as we had rain, fog, sleet and mist all the way. I can say however my apprehension about the size of the’ferry’ was a complete misnomer. It was the size of a small ocean liner! I was expecting a Manly ferry.

 

By the way I did not see my cumbersome suitcase until we reached Christchurch. Not like in the US of A and even Victoria where you hold your cases and have to keep your eye on them all the way to wherever.

 

I can honestly say I have never been on a better train trip than the one from Picton to Christchurch. It was pure bliss.

 

Sure, six and a bit hours seems a long time and in particular when the train travels no faster than 30 kms per hour. That I think is the success of this scenic trip. A slow journey from nowhere to somewhere. There were two stops along the way to pick up and drop off and that was it.

 

It was the peacefulness of the trip and knowing that you would get to somewhere at the end sent one of into a dream world. Not that you slept. Internally from your seat you could see out both sides. One side was the sophorific view of the ocean and the other sides was the mysterious mountains, rambling streams, and hills looking as if they had been the prototype for the pyramids or as I said “they look like a squeeze-box”.

 

I mentioned the word Mildura to the woman sitting next to me and from the seats in front of us two young women appeared and said “we live in Mildura”. I have often said how small the world is. 150 passengers in the train and two in front of me were from my town.

 

We thought we were home when we came across miles and miles of vineyards. They say that the south island wines are terrific.

 

As a stranger it wasn’t hard to know here you were as there was a TV monitor telling you , silently in words, where we were. Wish they had that sort of ‘sell’ in planes as I never know where I am travelling from Mildura to Melbourne or Sydney.

 

We saw black seals and dolphins frolicking in the ocean and it was interesting that there was not much life on the shores. Strewn with driftwood everywhere and rocks jagging out of the water the blackish beach sand did not look that inviting.

 

The train hugged the shoreline for the majority of the trip with the highway following us like lost sheep, and that’s another story. There were sheep everywhere and they would charge of in a straight line, as sheep do, and unlike our AFL football, to get away from the train. It seemed like a game they were playing. When we weren’t hugging the shoreline we went into deep mysterious tunnels.

 

From a layman’s point-of-view the soil did look uninviting with clay and lime seeming to be the major components. The land went from green, green forests to bleak straw coloured hills with not a blade of grass. It then sassayed into the mountains reaching the sky where it snows even at this time of the year sometimes.

 

I was getting the full gammit of New Zealand geography in one six hour lesson and that is what made it so beautiful. The variety of flora and fauna, the farms you could take in without missing a thing. The train was moving that slowly. In fact you did not think it was moving sometimes because one had gone into a euphoric state.

 

The staff were also super efficient and we could order a meal, pay for it and then have it delivered to your seat 10 minutes later. By the way, there was plenty of room in your individual seat and certainly plenty of room on the tray. I had bangers and mash and it was just like I cook at home and the lady next to me had a chicken dish that she said was delicious. Most people were pleasantly surprised at the quality and variety of food served.

 

The six hours did not seem to go slowly since there was just too much to see and we arrived in Christchurch on time.

 

What about our bags?

Well, they came out on a conveyor belt and you picked them up not two minutes after you alighted the train.

 

What a wonderful trip and I am glad I did not take the thirty minute plane flight there was just too much to see.

 

I sincerely hope the ‘city fathers’ in Mildura see this. The train would bring in heaps of vistors if not with the glorious scenery of New Zealand.

 

Kia Ora

 

 

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