Roads & Bridges

I have thought several times on this journey how much my dad Casey would have enjoyed the infrastructure of things along the way -- the maps we have followed, the vehicles we have taken, the roads we have traveled, the bridges we have crossed, the glimpses of local industries. As I write this on our 4 1/2 hour TranzAlpine train ride back to Christchurch, we are going through a very long tunnel, the 8.5 kilometer Otira, through the mountain range between the South Island's east and west coasts, the first of numerous shorter tunnels on this route.

A number of our guides have recounted stories of how and when roads and bridges were built. This is understandable, because New Zealand seems (or is) mostly mountains and rivers, and being able to reach communities and points of interest is incredibly important. And guess what: the roads and bridges we take for granted have not always existed:) Just yesterday we heard about construction of the three one-lane suspension bridges we crossed in our Newman coach between Haast and Fox Glacier -- bridges begun in 1936 and completed in the 1950s, after the distractions of wartime.

Maintenance of roads and bridges is ongoing; rock slides are common. One of the suspension bridges we crossed had been disabled for five days recently due to a flood, and today we had a 20-minute wait while workers continued some repairs. We were on the absolute only road from the Southlands up the coast to Greymouth; we certainly didn't complain about the delay... No other options for travel north.

History has it that the first automobile reached Fox Glacier in 1911. Thereafter, the first transport service (predecessor of our coach) was the same company as today (Newman) and it used Cadillacs. There were no bridges so cars forded the rivers at the lowest depths. At nightfall the driver would hold up lit newspapers to guide the car! Talk about adventure. Many children who lived in Haast on the West Coast in the 1930s saw airplanes fairly often (the most effective mode then) but had never seen a car at all.

Almost every road we have traveled in New Zealand has consisted of two narrow lanes, one in each direction, involving careful overtaking (passing), not a huge issue because traffic in general is much lighter than the States. The numerous small bridges are single lane, marked by arrows and human courtesy so things flow smoothly (see photo). Our coach drivers are masterful, adroitly navigating mountain valleys and hairpin turns with their 20-ton buses full of passengers. We have only clutched our seats or each other a few times. I mention all these facts because tourism and transportation are key factors in the Kiwi economy and I want to report to you that travel has been remarkably easy, efficient and pleasurable.