We checked in for the train, got rid of our luggage and the car, and then looked around Greymouth for a couple of hours. They have a flood wall around town - built since last big flood with waist deep water downtown in 1988 - which you can walk along the river on. There is a clock, originally in a tall stone clocktower attached to a bank, but the tower was deemed an earthquake hazard and the clock was dismantled for years, but now is in a lower wooden structure by the flood wall chiming out its nice old style chimes. They have a History House Museum, which we went to see - tons of things, from moa bones to info on numerous mine disasters, up to the most current with 32 dead last month - odd bits and pieces of everything there. Then we had lunch. It was taking a very long time, and people after us had been served, so Dave went to check - they had delivered our two venison burgers to another table, who accepted and ate them, in spite of their order being one burger and one fish and chips. Luckily we had time, they remade our lunch and spotted us a flat white each.
Then we got on the train for our 4 1/2 hour drive through Arthur's Pass through the Southern Alps. It's supposed to be one of the world's great train rides. The train was quite small - two engines, 10 cars. The observation car was open air so you could take photos unimpeded by the window glass. The ride started out along the edge of the Grey River, went through mountains covered with forest, 
by a lake, 
through mountain meadows,
through a lot of tunnels, 
through a gorge or two,
ended up on the Cantebury plains and was generally quite scenic.We arrived in Christchurch just after 6 pm, and by the time we got sorted out at the hotel and had a late dinner, I was too tired to blog.
This morning Dave went out to Clearwater for his last golf game, and got downpoured on, twice, so is back soaking wet already. Just in time for both of us to go out for breakfast!
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