More about our Tranzalpine train ride

One of the highlights of this train ride for Trey was trying to take pictures of the quickly passing scenery. On the west bound leg of the trip we both sat inside the train the whole trip struggling to get good pictures due to our own reflections on the train window. Some of these pictures turned out very good because they catch both the scenery and our images as we gaze outside, but most of them turned out bad. On the start of the eastward bound leg we both moved to the “open air car” so that we could take in the views and take pictures without the obstruction of windows and reflections. The open air train car was mainly a flat platform with a 4 foot high railing around it and a 7 foot high roof above. This left the space from 4-7 feet completely obstruction free. It was amazing how much better the view was from this car. After about 1.5 hours Jocelyn headed in so that she could sit down for a bit but Trey stayed outside most of the ride back to take pictures. It was probably a good thing that Jocelyn headed in because the last part of the trip the ride in this open air car got a little bit rough. This was because the train had picked up speed since we were now traveling downhill and that we were behind schedule due to a small electrical fire earlier in the trip. Also this leg followed the twisting path of the Waimakariri river, darting in and out of tunnels (16 in all) and over 5 viaducts, the tallest one 73 meters (240 feet) above the river below. This created quite a problem for taking pictures. First of all to keep the camera steady during the twists and turns required using both hands, meaning no free hand to hold on to the railing. Secondly every time you entered a tunnel you had to duck for covers to avoid the soot flying off of the tunnel walls and the water dripping from the tunnel ceiling. At the end of each tunnel you emerge to see yet another breathtaking view, but you had to act fast to take pictures because during this stretch there is only a few seconds before entering the next tunnel. It really made me appreciate how quickly point and shoot digital cameras can adjust the focus and exposure time to obtain a good image. There were a couple shots I was sure were going to turn out to be of the inside of the tunnel wall but the camera proved quicker than I thought and captured the desired scenery. I hope you enjoy the pictures we took and put into this video.