Rail Journey Stops For Whales And Dolphins

April 28, 2006

The TranzCoastal train journey travels between the delightful port of Picton and Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand.

This is a popular rail journey, because it is a liesurely way to get from the capital city (Wellington) in the North Island, crossing Cook Strait by ferry to Picton in the South Island and then by train on to the South Island’s largest city (Christchurch).

This journey is a scenic feast of New Zealand, with the Kaikoura mountain ranges on one side of the train and the rugged Pacific Ocean coastline on the other. Along the way the train passes though the village of Kaikoura, where passengers touring New Zealand can break their journey to take in the whale watching or dare to get closer and swim with the dolphins.

The train travels through some of New Zealand’s finest horticultural and farmland areas, and passengers can see amazing wildlife such as dolphins, seals and penguins from the comfort of the train carriage.

One of the world’s most scenic train journeys, the TranzCoastal travels through 22 tunnels and crosses 175 bridges, one of them being New Zealand’s only road-rail bridge. The TranzCoastal includes an open air viewing carriage where all the senses are awakened with the clean, fresh, sea air.

The TranzCoastal train departs Christchurch and Picton daily.