The Great Journeys of New Zealand alternative to flying. In 2017, KiwiRail decided to bring them together under one brand, The Great Journeys of New Zealand, which offers a connected passenger service throughout New Zealand, from Auckland to Greymouth, via train and ferry. The division is now experiencing rapid double digit annual growth, due to the growth of Chinese tourism to New Zealand, leading KiwiRail to announce that it may purchase eight AK-class carriages to add to the seventeen purchased in 2010. The Great Journeys of New Zealand operates three Scenic trains services: Three Cook Strait passenger ferries operate under the brand Interislander: KiwiRail Scenic Journeys's
New Zealand State Highway 71 New Zealand State Highway 71 State Highway 71 (SH 71) is a New Zealand state highway connecting Kaiapoi/Christchurch with Rangiora. The highway was declared in 1992 after State Highway 72, the highway which serviced inland parts of Canterbury, was revoked (along with a number of other highways). SH 71 provided a southern connection to Rangiora from SH 1 in contrast to SH 72, which connected Rangiora to SH 1 from the east. SH 71 can be accessed via offramps coming off SH 1 (as the Christchurch Northern Motorway). Smith Street, coming from Kaiapoi, also flows onto SH 71. Initially a