My brother & I began our trip with an early wake up on the 5th of April, dragging ourselves out of bed, collecting our bags, and catching our taxi to the main Intercity Bus stop in downtown Christchurch. The building was still closed when we arrived so we just walked around & waited until the building opened at 0630. Despite being an early departure, the bus was surprisingly filled with people. I should note that many Intercity buses do not come with a toilet (like this one) so go before the bus goes.
The bus route was along the east coast of the South Island, heading towards the town of Kaikoura, and then on to Blenheim. The TranzCoastal tourist/passenger train happened to be travelling in the same direction as we were. I had ridden on it in 2008 with my parents when we went whale watching in Kaikoura. Now that I think about it, the space in between Middle Earth's railway tracks are really small.
The coastal landscape remained unchanged since my last visit, with towering mountains, winding roads, and restless waves. As we neared Kaikoura, the main road became windier, forcing the bus driver to turn left & right many times. He could have slowed down when making the turns but I think he was having too good of time showing off his driving skills. I did my best to snap photos of the majestic landscape, shaded by an overcast day.
Upon our arrival in Kaikoura, we were given a 30 minute break to stretch our legs & find something to snack on. My brother & I walked through the main town, a collection of shops & cafes, to the rocky beach near the railway station. Waves crashed onto the rocks before receding with a distinct sound, an act that had been going on for millennia.
The bus continued on to the town of Blenheim with its human cargo. The landscape started to change slowly, the green tree mountains turning into yellow grassland hills. What didn't change was the winding road. The ascent & descent, along with the tight turns, brought back memories of travelling with my family to Flagstaff, Arizona, when I was a child.
The Blenheim area is home to vast wine fields spanning hundreds of hectares and operated by various NZ wine companies. The bus driver explained that Middle Earth produces around 43 million litres of wine annually! For a nation of 4 million that's a lot, but compared to world production, it's relatively small. My brother & I switched buses in Blenheim because the one we were on would continue on to the port town of Picton. We had to wait for 40 minutes before the Nelson bus arrived.
The Nelson bus was packed & I had to unfortunately sit next to a couple with a crying baby. Luckily, I had my ear plugs on hand. The colour of the mountains changed again, turning green again but this time because of large pine forest plantations. The Nelson area is used to harvest pine trees for housing & industry. Naturally, the pine trees were imported from Canada in the 19th century. As the bus snaked its way around the steep green mountains, I found myself looking over the edge of road & seeing nothing but a steep drop. Luckily, after an hour of moving up, down, left, and right, the bus safely arrived in Nelson and we disembarked at the Intercity Bus Terminal. We picked up a free city map and walked towards our hostel with our bags in hand.
To Be Continued . . .
(Post 1 of 10)
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