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If I were doing it again, I would have added an additional week to the trip. (See previous New Zealand posts.) But after the TranzAlpine train, due to both the distances and travel options available, it was time to begin the journey back. Points further south in New Zealand would have to wait for another trip. The…

The next morning (see previous New Zealand posts), we took the narrow-gauge TranzAlpine Train across the Southern Alps, from Christchurch to Greymouth, and back — an all-day outing. Wikipedia: “The TranzAlpine is a passenger train operated by The Great Journeys of New Zealand in the South Island of New Zealand over the Midland Line; often regarded to be one of the world’s great train journeys…

After the long, scenic, but sedentary ride from Picton to Christchurch (see previous New Zealand posts), we spent most of the next day on foot, exploring the city. Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island; and one that’s had more than its share of heartbreak in recent years. It’s in a lovely location, just…

We were up at 5AM to catch the dawn bus for the long ride to Christchurch. (See previous New Zealand posts.) The above photo is actually from later, after we were well on our way. Yawn. The Piwaka Lodge was packed with hikers (“trampers”), but we were up early enough to avoid the rush for the…

The next morning, we headed to the South Island (see previous New Zealand posts). There are two main car/passenger ferry lines operating between Wellington and Picton; the Interislander (which we took), and BlueBridge. Both cover the roughly 100km/60mi route — half on the open waters of the Cook Strait, and half zig-zagging among islands and…

After a very busy week of guided touring (see previous New Zealand posts), we’d built in a day of slower-paced sightseeing-by-foot in Wellington. We started the day with a change of hotels, leaving the excellent YHA Wellington, which had been booked for us as part of the organized tour. If I’d known in advance how nice…

Yes, those are hobbit feet — Bilbo Baggins’, in fact. I’ll explain in a moment. The final day of the North Island tour was a long ride down to Wellington (see previous New Zealand posts). Here’s a very rough approximation of the full week’s driving, with an estimated total time-in-transit. I’ll admit the bus was…

In the morning (see previous New Zealand posts), we headed to Taupo (“toe-paw”), but first took a brief detour to the Murupara Area School, where we delivered extra hangi from the previous night’s feast. (We’d all pitched in to help package and refrigerate the leftover hangi, after the meal.) The Murupara area has many Maori…