Time to Move On

The train
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Day 24:

On our last full day in New Zealand, we decided to let NZ Railroad do the driving and take the TranzAlpine train across the country. This train goes from Christchurch on the east coast to Greymouth on the west coast and back, passing over the Southern Alps. The views were once again spectacular as it wound up from the Canterbury plains, through the foothills, and over the Alps, passing through 15 tunnels, the longest being over 5 miles long.. Unfortunately it was a long roundtrip, 10 hours in all. It would have been a much better idea to take it one way, but our rental plans were made and we didn’t have a way back. But I think we both agree it’s time to bring this part of the trip to an end. I’m coming down with a cold, and think a month on the road is taking its toll. Tomorrow morning (very early) we head back to Melbourne for a day before the final trip home. It’s sad to have only one day left over here. It’s definitely time to head for home – we’ve been gone a long time and we’re ready! – but it’s hard to think of possibly never coming back here. We keep saying “next time” about things we haven’t seen or things we didn’t do or places we would have liked to stay longer. So we definitely hope to be here again, but it will be a long time. I’m going to miss it! Nevertheless, I’m happy that we’ll be home soon.

It gets cold up there
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AUZ/NZ trivia:

One thing they have a lot of in Australia and New Zealand is areas of heavy forests, since both have major forestry industries. They aren’t afraid to cut them down either, and clear-cutting seems to be the preferred method. While driving through a thick forest, we’d come upon whole mountains just stripped bare. Really ugly, but I guess no one seems to care. I newscaster made a crack one night about foresters and their chain saws. They also have the largest reforested areas in the world too, so to them I guess it’s just another crop.

At least I wasn't driving this time
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PS. Just to show you we aren’t the only busy ones, while we’ve been gone, Jessica and Tarek have looked for a new house, found one, bought it, and are moving in. Just couldn’t wait for us to get home!