Choo, choo goes the train! Our train ride from Picton to Kaikoura took about 3hours. The scenery was great... vineyards, pastureland, beaches, mountains and a salt processing area near the ocean. The train was packed with travelers. Out of Picton, we crossed the vineyards of the Wairau Plains to Blenheim, over the Dashwood Pass to the coast. We had rocky outcroppings on one side and snow clad mountains on the other.
We learned that if we were to hop off the train, jump into the Pacific Ocean and swim 5,000 miles, we'd end up in Chile!
While eating lunch in Picton, waiting for our train to leave, I spied our Ghan train friends, John and Lynn from Wisconsin! They joined us for a cup of tea and we caught up on their adventures. We found out they were going on the train too. However, they were going all the way to Christchurch. We were stopping for 2 nights in Kaikoura. We chatted, hugged and said, "Hope to see you in Queenstown." We hope to run into them again before they head back to Australia. Otherwise, we'll be sure to see them in the states some day.
