Choose a New Zealand Train With a Can’t-Miss Culinary Experience

New Zealand isn’t the biggest country in the world, but it’s surely among the most scenic. The rugged grandeur accounting for that distinction also makes it a unique challenge to traverse. Though roughly the size of California, road tripping from its northernmost jut of Cape Reinga to the southerly shores of Bluff requires 30 hours of driving — about twice the time needed to wheel all the way down the Golden State. It’s not just the 3.5-hour inter-island ferry that slows things, either. It’s the fact that freeways are scant and rarely designed to beeline between population centers. 

Nevertheless, I’ve remained attracted to the idea, in theory. Then Great Journeys New Zealand served me a favorable (and more flavorful) alternative in the form of a train car. The company specializes in tours up and down the national rail network, the longest of which is an 18-day adventure showcasing the breadth of food and wine culture characterizing the two main islands.

With not nearly enough holiday to work with, I opt for the Epicurean Odyssey, which lasts a little more than a week and begins in the capital city of Wellington. It turned out to be quite an auspicious time to book, too, as the company had just rolled out it’s new Scenic Plus carriage. 

Calling in Picton, a verdant village that welcomes ferry-goers upon crossing the Cook Strait from Wellington, I settle aboard a spiffy cabin with high ceilings and broad sight lines. The layout is greatly appreciated considering that the ride will eventually involve an ascension into the Southern Alps. Interior flourishes showcase an Indigenous cultural aesthetic, with carvings etched into overhead panels and sculptures gracing the dining tables, all crafted by Māori artists.

As the wheels start moving, I’m promptly presented with what I misinterpret to be a map but, upon closer inspection, it’s actually a menu. Virtually everything served along the voyage is New Zealand-sourced: meats and vegetables, beers and wines, compotes and chutneys. The pamphlet details where, specifically, it all derived.

While skirting the South Island’s crenelated Canterbury coastline, I enjoy a lunch that starts with smoked greenshell mussels, plucked not far from the waters that form the panorama. A braised lamb shoulder follows, farm-raised in the very region the train is negotiating. It’s served tender with honey-glazed carrots under a red wine jus, paired with a juicy Pinot Noir from Tohu Wines. The vineyard is a standout in the celebrated Marlborough region, where I began my journey several hours earlier.

This synchronicity is hardly happenstance. Whenever — and wherever — possible, the culinary team for Great Journeys aligns provenance on the plate with its corresponding terrain. Admiring the views across the South Island is overwhelming enough. But I am literally tasting the scenery.

Several days later, the Tranzalpine leg of the trip promises unobstructed views of some of New Zealand’s tallest peaks — with elevated cuisine to match. A four-hour ride up and over the island’s craggy, snowcapped spine connects the hip cosmopolitan vibes of Christchurch with the remote rainforests of the West Coast. It kicks off with a breakfast of hot smoked hash built around king salmon sourced from around Mount Aoraki and sliced avocado acquired from the aptly named Bay of Plenty up north.

The lunch cart reveals a free-range roasted chicken with bacon salad, red onions, and roasted corn. I pair it with an oaky Chardonnay from a Christchurch winery — and a front row seat to the corrugated spectacle of Arthur’s Pass, a tiny village forming the highest vehicular traverse of the Southern Alps. Dessert is a Rata Blossom and Feijoa Mead from Buzz Club, a sustainable purveyor that relies on West Coast honey for its saccharine brews.

Though its hard product holds all the trappings of a well-appointed train carriage, Great Journeys is ultimately more of a springboard than it is something on a fixed track. In fact, it incorporates intermittent bouts on boats and buses. No matter the mode of transit, somebody else always has the wheel.

As for the train, I am never onboard for more than six hours during any one day. There are no sleeper cars here and that’s marketed as a feature rather than a flaw. I stay overnight at four- and five-star properties peppered throughout the landscape and enjoy countless on-the-ground adventures: adrenaline-spiking jetboating up the Haast River; sperm whale watching in Kaikoura; birding amid the canopy of a cloud forest. Each day in New Zealand is different, and it is continually delicious, culminating in an epic buffet of Kiwi-sourced specialties at a sheep station along the glaciated banks of Lake Wakatipu. Everything unfolds over a meticulously curated all-inclusive excursion that costs 11,000 NZD (approximately $6,700).

After it all ends — in the adventure lover’s paradise of Queenstown — I allow for many moments of solace amid the mountain air. Then shudder at the thought of driving myself 30 hours on a road trip return to the north. When touring this part of the world, I’m far better served with utensils in my hands as opposed to a steering wheel.