Arthur's Pass National Park

Arthur's Pass is the highest crossing of the Southern Alps by road, and the national park around it covers the ground where Canterbury's dry beech and tussock country gives way to the wet, dense forest of the West Coast. The change happens within a few kilometres of the pass itself. A small village sits at the top, with a handful of buildings, a rail station and the start of most of the tracks. Short walks reach Devils Punchbowl, a waterfall dropping in one long fall from a hanging valley; longer ones climb steeply to Avalanche Peak and Temple Basin. Kea, the alpine parrots, work the car parks with obvious intent.

History

Land at Arthur's Pass and the Otira Gorge was set aside under the Lands Act 1885 and the Scenery Preservation Act of 1903. After the Midland railway was built, excursion trains from Christchurch began in 1926, and visitors taking native flowers, some even cutting trees for rātā blooms, led to the national park of 1929, the first in the South Island and the third in the country, with Charles Edward Warden as its first ranger (Wikipedia, Arthur's Pass National Park).

What's there

• Devils Punchbowl Falls - the long single drop reached by a steep stepped track.
• Avalanche Peak - a hard climb from the village to an exposed summit ridge.
• The Otira Viaduct lookout - the road curving down the western side into steep country.
• Kea - the alpine parrots around the village and car parks, and the damage they cause.

When to go

December to March is the season for the alpine climbs, when the tops are mostly clear of snow. The pass road is open year round but can close briefly for snow or slips in winter, when the tops need proper equipment. The scenic train through the park runs daily and is an alternative to driving. Weather changes fast here at any time of year.

Things to know

This is one of the wettest and most changeable places in the country, and days of low cloud and rain are common. Avalanche Peak is steep, exposed and has caught out people who underestimated it. The village is very small, with limited food, fuel and beds. Kea will strip rubber from unattended cars, and the highway carries heavy freight traffic straight through the middle of it.

Nearby

Castle Hill's limestone boulders and Lake Pearson lie east on the highway, with Hokitika and the coast west.

Key facts