The TranzAlpine rail trip

This morning we had a 40km drive up the coast from Hokitika to Greymouth. It was cool and drizzly, and at first sight Greymouth rather lived down to its name. However, having dropped off our car at the railway station, we had a few hours to explore the town before we caught  the Tranz Alpine train to Christchurch.We discovered from various plaques, and by visiting an impressive new exhibition building, that Greymouth has an important  part to play in New Zealand history.  About 1000 years ago, Maoris arrived there from the east of South Island, having found a way though the Southern Alps. They discovered great deposits of a mineral which they called Pounamu, later also known as greenstone or New Zealand jade. It was  prized as a material for making blades for weapons and cutlery, as well as being very decorative. The displays in the new exhibition building, called Mawhera Pa, explain the history, culture and beliefs of the Maori tribes who, over the centuries, colonised this area of New Zealand. 
Greymouth became an important port and later, in 1864, a gold rush town, which brought much wealth to the area. Nowadays it is a quiet township, with some interesting shops, including a good bakery/ coffeeshop called Blanchfields, which was established in 1892. 
Our train departed  at 2pm and  took us past Lake Brunner, through forests and then through the alps via the 8.5km Otira tunnel, emerging at Arthurs Pass, a little alpine station. It was rainy up to this point but then the weather improved as we descended towards Christchurch, first over viaducts and in short tunnels, and then across the alluvial  Canterbury Plains, which is the scene shown in my blip. We arrived in Christchurch just as the sun was setting.