Travel Diary » Photo Essay: Over Arthurs Pass
Photo Essay: Over Arthurs Pass
In a country that is renowned for it's amazing scenery and spectacular drives, one of the most famous is the drive from the west coast to/from Christchurch across the Southern Alps at Arthurs Pass. It's the highest crossing over the alps and takes you through steep gorges, snow capped mountains, scree covered slopes, wide river beds, waterfalls and rich farming valleys.
The drive between Hokitika/Greymouth and Christchurch across Arthurs Pass takes approximately three hours depending on the conditions. And it is one of those roads where you really do need to be aware of the conditions before setting off. Landslides, ice, heavy rain and fog are common. Since the highest point on the road is just under 1000m and as a friend and native Kiwi, Dave Dean regularly tells us, "Summer in New Zealand is optional", sleet and snow can occur all year round in the pass.
Having done the drive in a small campervan with similar uphill capabilities as a horse and carriage, on a wet, snowy day (although admittedly we were just below the snow-line so we only experienced rain and a little sleet), the drive didn't seem that difficult. It's winding and I'm sure quite treacherous in icy conditions but the road itself is good and the climb is less steep than a lot of roads we've driven on. It's just one of those roads that you need to check the conditions before you leave and remain alert it. If you don't fancy driving over the pass, you can take the Trans-Alpine Railway, which by all accounts offers even more stunning views than you see from the road.
Personally we found the drive across the Haast Pass between Queenstown/Wanaka and Haast on the west coast to be a more stunning drive than Arthurs Pass, but Arthurs Pass was still gorgeous. If we hadn't just done the other drive we would have been completely blown away.
Photos from the drive over Arthurs Pass
It was raining when we set out from Greymouth. The first hour passed pretty much like this. Paddocks filled with lambs, a wide river and a whole lot of drizzling misty rain. Pretty but the rain stopped it from being spectacular.
As we made our way up the mountains the countryside got wilder. The rain also became heavier and we started seeing snow capped peaks. We spent most of the drive playing 'spot the landslide' (warning: only play this if your kids can count past 100 because they're going to need to count that high).
The highlight was passing through a tunnel designed to stop a rock-slide from covering the road and the nearby waterfall that is now diverted over top of the road.
Finally we hit Arthurs Pass and the town of the same name. It looked like a lovely spot to stop for lunch and enjoy a walk to the nearby waterfalls. Unfortunately for us it was so cold and wet the kids only lasted two minutes out of the car before asking to keep going. You know it's cold when kids that are completely sick of being in a car ask to hop back in and continue driving, especially when there are rocks, sticks and creeks about!
As soon as we cleared the pass the rain stopped and the view ... WOW!
The Castle Hill region was the most scenic in our minds. Snow fields and multi-coloured mountains preceded by plains dotted with thousands of limestone boulders.
If you've seen the Narnia movies (the epic battle scenes amidst lime stone boulders in the first movie) or the Lord of the Rings trilogy, this spot is going to be very familiar.
Before you start the drive:
- Fuel up before you leave Greymouth/Hokitika or Christchurch depending on which way you are driving. There aren't many places to buy petrol along the way. Also, don't assume that like major highways in Australia, Europe of the USA/Canada that just before you get onto the highway that there will be a petrol station, particularly if you are starting out on the west coast. We stupidly did this ... there's no petrol stations between Greymouth and Hokitika!
- Check the weather conditions before setting out. MetService, New Zealand's Bureau of Meteorology and the New Zealand Transport Agency will have up to date information.
- If the weather is nice, Arthurs Pass is a great place to stop for lunch. There's a famous pie shop as well as a couple of picnic areas, plus several easy walks with kids. On a fine day you'll also encounter Kea's, a large New Zealand parrot that is highly intelligent and mischievous (the birds have been known to do some serious damage to cars, including pulling off any strip, antenna or cover they can access ... and stealing food).
- Speaking of Kea's, it's definitely worth looking up 'Kea Arthurs Pass' on YouTube and showing your children! There are some hilarious videos, as well as some good documentary style videos on how intelligent they are.
- Pack plenty of snacks and drinks. There aren't many places to stop for food along the way.
- If your kids do get car sick be prepared and take your usual precautions. Ours usually do get a little 'queasy' but thankfully were fine on this trip. We did make sure they were in loose fitting clothes beforehand and limited iPad usage on the windier parts of the road though.
This week I'm joining Photo Friday at Delicious Baby, always a great place to get travel inspiration for your family.
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21/10/2012 12:34am (7 months ago)
What gorgeous pictures! I love the picture of the tunnel-that would be a scary drive!
21/10/2012 3:38am (7 months ago)
Must be an exhilarating drive - love it!
21/10/2012 10:19am (7 months ago)
What an incredibly beautiful place! I think the landslide warning signs might freak me out a bit on the ride there but what an amazing payoff!!
21/10/2012 5:19pm (7 months ago)
@Terumi - the tunnel was fabulous. It wasn't until we were through it that I realised what it was for. That was a bit freaky!
@Sonja - thanks. It was just gorgeous. I thought from all the hype that it was going to be a difficult drive but it wasn't, just beautiful.
@Lisa - we've gotten quite used to the landslide warnings and looking for landslides ... although we did pass one on an earlier drive that they were still clearing. I could have held my hand out of the car and touched the rocks. That was scary.
22/10/2012 1:31pm (7 months ago)
We're planning on taking the Trans-Alpine Railway on our (currently postponed) NZ trip. The scenery looks breathtaking. I really like how they diverted that waterfall over the road. I don't think I've ever seen that before.
24/10/2012 7:26am (7 months ago)
I'd never seen that kind of approach to a waterfall being 'in the way' of the road before either Michele. It was fun to drive under. I hope you get to visit New Zealand soon. The trans-alpine railway is supposed to be amazing. It would be really nice for everyone to be able to sit back and enjoy the scenery, rather than one person being stuck driving!
25/10/2012 9:59pm (7 months ago)
I love these gorgeous photos. Also - great practical tips if we ever get to do this road trip ourselves.
10/11/2012 8:44am (6 months ago)
This drive I did not do. I headed from the Glaciers up to Abel Tasman National Park, which took me through the scenic Buller Gorge. I need to go back and do this one!
12/11/2012 7:05am (6 months ago)
Was that a nice drive too Erik? What am I saying, I don't think there is such a thing as a drive that isn't stunning in New Zealand!