The Great Journeys of New Zealand brand of passenger trains geared toward the increasing tourism industry in New Zealand. The new brand, named KiwiRail Scenic Journeys, was launched with a new breed of AK-class carriages designed to showcase New Zealand's scenery, as well as providing long-distance passenger train services. During the transformation, the TranzCoastal train was rebranded as the Coastal Pacific and the Overlander became the Northern Explorer; whereas the TranzAlpine's name was retained. Meanwhile, KiwiRail's ferry brand, Interislander, was building on its core business taking vehicles and freight across Cook Strait and looking to promote the trip as an iconic tourism experience and a scenic
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 The highway was declared in 1992 after State Highway 72, the highway which serviced inland parts of Canterbury, was revoked (along with a number of other highways).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