The train is called the Tranz-Alpine and it is the only passenger train service in South Island. It crosses the Southern Alps at Arthur's Pass' at a altitude of 920m. The weather there is always awful, and if you want proof, take a look at the weather now on their weather cam. 
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(left: train crossing a river with extensive river bed)
(left: a picture of the typical mountainous terrain)
At Greymouth we hired a car (a little Toyota Corolla hatchback) and set off for Hokitika, a bigger town about 25 miles south. A bigger town. It had three streets. We fell in love with the place - unpretentious, honest (apart from the jade emporiums) and refreshingly down to earth. Here are a couple of pictures to give a feel of the place:
(above: view from the beach over the Hokitika bungalows towards the Southern Alps - you can just see a snow covered peak in the gap in the clouds).
(below: an atmospheric scene - the roaring Tasman Sea, the beach with drift wood, and the glowering grey clouds rushing across the sky).
