Although a chilly night, it was a restful night. Luggage out at 6:30; wheels rolling at 7:30.
It was just a short trip to the train station for our tour on the Tranz-Alpine train journey. It was a super comfortable train with commentary as we headed to Arthur’s Pass. This was just a breathtaking journey. The pictures are a small representation of the beauty of this country.
We departed the train at Arthur’s Pass, where Peter met us with the coach. We drove a bit to the little village of Hokitika. We had a presentation on the coach about NZ jade. How coincidental that we exited the coach through the shop.
We had a bit of lunch at Cafe 39, some fish and chips or tomato soup. After lunch, the lure of the jade called us back to Mountain Jade.
It was then on to Franz Josef. Again the journey provided postcard views were around every bend.
We made it to the little town and found that the road to the glacier had reopened after being washed out by a landslide. So we headed there. There was still a lot of work being done on the road and riverbank.
From the car park to the glacier lookout was about a 15 minute walk on a gravel path. It was worth the climb.
It was starting to get dark and we headed to the hotel, the Scenic Franz Josef.
Lois a Gerald opted to stay at the hotel for dinner while the other 5 of us headed to The Landing. We were joined by Sid Chase, from St. Louis. He’s been a fun person with whom to travel.
Dinner was All-American fare of burgers and pizza for Sharon, Earle, and I. Barbara had lamb shanks, Charles seafood chowder and pork belly.
Back to the hotel to try to figure out what was happening to our blog.
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