The Tranzcoastal train left at 1 pm.

The countryside started off mountainous but green. There was a lot of gorse which is a major problem over here, We could see bare mountains in the distance with snow on the tops.

On the nearby road a pick-up truck towing a boat kept passing us.

Blenheim is the sunniest spot in New Zealand and is wine country. We saw lots of vineyards.

We crossed the Alwatere River.

At Grassmere we were beside the sea which has a barrier beach and sand dunes forming lagoons where they harvest the salt. Some were pink tinged which was caused by red algae.