Dining experience like no other
The new TranzAlpine Scenic Plus is back - new and improved
The TranzAlpine scenic train journey is already one of the world’s great train rides, a jaw-dropping trip crossing the breadth of the South Island, famous around the world for its dramatic landscapes and picture-perfect photo opportunities. However, from April this year, explorers can upgrade their trip to the new Scenic Plus Experience for, quite possibly, one of the most memorable eating experiences in the country.
EXPERIENCE ONE OF NEW ZEALAND’S GREAT ADVENTURES
For oceans, forests, mountains and more all while sitting back, relaxing, and filling your phone’s gallery with memories, you don’t need to leave New Zealand - the TranzAlpine is one of the world’s top scenic train journeys, and for good reason.
Starting in either Christchurch or Greymouth, the TranzAlpine winds its way across the heart of the South Island, up into the ‘Great Divide’ of the towering Southern Alps, through dramatic gorges and past sweeping snow-capped mountains, across vast green fields and alongside sparkling glacial rivers, all at a leisurely pace taking about five hours (one way). The section between Springfield and Arthur’s Pass in particular is famed as a masterpiece of railway engineering, and one of the best sections of the trip.
Of course, you might not choose to do the whole trip at once, instead stopping to see some of the major highlights of the adventure. Explore the gardens of Christchurch, go horse trekking into the hills of Springfield, spot cheeky kea while enjoying lunch in Arthur’s Pass, relax at the tranquil waters of Lake Brunner, and alight in Greymouth - glacier country.
WANT MORE? UPGRADE YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH SCENIC PLUS
From April this year, upgrade your TranzAlpine trip with the kind of dining fit for royalty.
Great Journeys New Zealand is introducing a new purpose-built kitchen carriage to service Scenic Plus travellers with a gourmet dining experience designed to enhance and awaken the senses throughout the journey.
But, the experience doesn’t start only when dinner is served (or breakfast and lunch, depending on your trip). As a premium traveller, you’ll receive premium boarding, and be seated in an exclusive carriage reserved for Scenic Plus customers, serviced by your own personal host.
Watch the landscape go by sipping complimentary New Zealand beer, or your choice of the country’s famous Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. If you’re enjoying the earlier service or just want to quench your thirst with a soft drink instead, barista-made coffees, tea, fresh-squeezed juice and soft drinks are also available.
Breakfast and a light lunch are available from Christchurch to Greymouth, with afternoon tea and dinner served in the other direction. Either way, you’ll experience the full delight of local cuisine, inspired (and provided) by the landscape passing by outside your window. The train’s chefs have selected a range of lamb, salmon, crayfish and other fare from local producers, to ensure your experience is as authentically Kiwi as the mountains and rivers themselves.
If at any point along the trip you spot a photo worthy of immortalising on social media, take a walk to the TranzAlpine’s open-air carriage, provided for Scenic Plus travellers wanting to feel the wind in their hair and the sun on their skin. Here you’re free to snap away, enjoying nature’s vista without obstruction from the train’s windows.
You can travel the TranzAlpine in either direction, departing Christchurch at 8:15am or Greymouth at 2:15pm. Or, make a full holiday of it and book both ways, one to enjoy the full trip uninterrupted and another to stop and check out the local sights.
When you’re ready to book, visit www.greatjourneysnz.com.