Thought I’d get a jump on tomorrow’s visit to Neil’s, by seeing if this experiment worked.
I’m riding on KiwiRail from Arthur’s Pass to Christchurch NZ, and am posting a pic in real time, let’s see if this works.
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Glad you got to do that trip Cliff, nice day for it. Really looking forward to tomorrow.
Cheers
N
So you’ve escaped work and are now on the lamb!?
Yes! I have the weekend off!
Today I was on a fine tour bus ride (via “Cheaky Kea Tours”) from Christchurch to Arthur’s Pass, with a number of interesting stops along the way. At the top of the NZ alps, there are indeed numerous kea birds, which are the world’s only alpine parrot. And they are cheaky: they’ll steal the food right off your table if eating outside.
The tour invloved the KiwiRail’s “TransAlpine” train on the return trip. The scenery is stunning.
I don’t expect anyone to watch all this, but we were told there were 15 tunnels on this stretch of the line, so I wanted to try one unbroken shot. Nothing great, but I think it’ll give an idea of the type and sequence and timing of the amazing views.
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I thought you’d be in much more snow, this time of year. Great views from both sides of the train!
Yeah Bill, the weather was great, I had to take my jacket off. There’d been snow a few days ago, but all dry on the ground now. And thanks, the cafe car had very few people in it, so I could bounce back and forth. Very fun!
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Cliff;
Congrats on your train ride through the Misty Mountains of Middle Earth (at least both the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies were produced there). So glad you were not way lain by orcs or involved in a bolder tossing match by the storm giants!
Best, David Meashey
Thanks Dave, yeah I asked, and was told the shooting happened quite further south, but same mountain range, so yep. Gorgeous mountains.
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Today I had the long-awaited pleasure of visiting the Flaxton Creek RR, and its General Manager, Neil.
We had great discussions & note comparisons on numerous points such as scenery, ops, controls, track, you name it. Neil has very impressive skills in making switches, controls, large rock castings, benchwork, track weathering & ballasting, and a number of other areas. Wonderful stuff, I learned a lot.
Here’s a pano view, plus a few regular shots.
Neil twisted my arm to sample the fare of his local, and I eventually accommodated. 
A beautiful day at Flaxton Creek! I’d surely love to come back.
Thanks Neil!!
PS:
I’ve this learned last week there’s no “Yes” or “No” in NZ, but am starting to get the hang of the differences between:
- Yeah, nah.
- Nah, yeah.
- Yeah, nah; yeah.
- Nah, yeah; nah.
There are derivitaves. While on a hike yesterday, I asked a stranger what I thought was a quite erudite question: “Do you suppose there’s a rubbish bin near the bog?” He said, “Yeah, possibly nah?” Then after a pause, smiled and added, “Nah, yeah, they got rid of those twenty years ago.”
Haven’t by any means mastered this, but like I said, starting to. The research continues.
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Cliff;
Makes me think of my old favorite Pennsylvania Dutch “ism”, Ain’t Not! It meant something like “Isn’t that so?”
Best, David Meashey
It was sure great to meet you and hang out for the day Cliff, swing past anytime - family welcome… 
One more variant on yeah nah - ‘did you have fun?’: Nah - it was good.
Cheers
N
What an exciting trip! I too, hope to see the Flaxton Creek Road at the upcoming National Garden Railway Convention.
Not many people get to travel across both the dateline and equator, take a train trip and visit a garden railway. You just know, Cliff will be invited to parties for months just to regale folks with tales of his expedition and of course, to report his sighting of the Coriolis Effects he would have witnessed at every sink and toilet. 
Hopefully Neil, you ran your trains anticlockwise during his visit too…
Well Neil, I suppose with Cliff tiptoeing through Oz and actually making it to the South Island, the only thing left to do is issue the previously unknown, but soon to be highly sought after certificate of Extraordinary Passage and and accompanying handy wallet ID documentation.
When presenting the ID card at any reputable stockist Cliff should be able to purchase anything in the shop at Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price and strike up a conversation about New Zealand, trains, luggage or plumbing.
Cliff you can probably get these re-printed on durable feral Australian possum vellum (for free) in NZ as they are an introduced pest species. Hopefully you’ll get a jumper at the same time. Any likeness to any individual is probably coincidental.
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I’ve been sleeping with the light on for the past 3 days because of this picture!
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Bill, thanks for the thoughts. And those certs are true frameable masterpieces! 
Nah they’re sh!t !! *
Perhaps print some with blanks for writein names for the convention, and sell em for a pint each, nah yeah?
*This is a legit Kiwi praise, so I’m told. Opposite of “Yeah, they’re sh!t.” I’d caution usage though, in the off-chance I transposed the first word…
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