Arthur’s Pass National Park

Arthur’s Pass National Park is a mountainous area between Canterbury and the West Coast of the south island. It first gained National Park status in 1929, becoming New Zealand’s third national park and the south island’s first. The area is brimming with outdoor pursuits with hiking, mountaineering, skiing, mountain biking, hunting and fishing all possible within Arthur’s Pass National Park. Even if you aren’t quite so adventurous there are a number of nature walks that can be done right from Arthur’s Pass township. It’s the perfect break in a road trip between Christchurch and the West Coast for some fresh mountain air whilst admiring your surroundings.

Travel to Arthur’s Pass

The drive into Arthur’s Pass township takes approximately 2 hours. From the township, there is a Department of Conservation visitors centre who are able to give you the latest weather information advise you on any warnings that are in place. From Arthur’s Pass township it takes anywhere between a minutes walk to 45 minutes drive to reach the start of a track. Ensure after parking your car that you leave no valuable items within the car and stow any other items away out of sight. Parts of Arthur’s Pass are known to be targeted spots for theft, especially at the beginning and ends of major trails in the national park.

Arthur’s Pass Geography

Arthur’s Pass covers 1,184.7 km² of terrains stretching over the Southern Alps and it’s surroundings. There are numerous mountains to the summit and an extensive network of trails that has been carved into the National Park right from easy walks through to technically demanding routes with navigation by map. Arthur’s Pass National Park is outlined by the green boundary below in the centre of the map and has a number of trails that I have completed and shared on this blog that you can read more about below.

[wp_mapbox_gl_js map_id=”6570″ height=”800px”]

Arthur’s Pass Weather & Climate

Arthur’s Pass is a mountain pass that goes between the Southern Alps and hence gets a lot of varying weather conditions. It is a good idea to keep ideas open. Winter and Spring in Arthur’s Pass leave the mountains with plenty of snow sitting on the mountains making it a popular spot for mountaineers where there isn’t such a large approach. During the wintertime, many of the alpine trails are covered with a thick blanket of snow. It is a good idea to check in with the Department of Conservation visitors centre during the spring and early summer for conditions of some of these tracks as some tracks may still be under snow and not be safe without the right equipment.

Arthur’s Pass Wildlife

One of the best places to see Kea in Arthur’s Pass is at the Otira Viaduct lookout. They are very inquisitive birds that aren’t too shy of humans and will come up very close. Please do not feed the kea, there are always a number of signs up around the area that clearly states “do not feed the kea” as well. Feeding them does not help them learn to fend for themselves and eat food that they are mean to eat. Enjoy these cheeky mountain parrots from a distance and leave them to be the curious birds that they are. If you do see one of these keas and either capture a photo of them or record their bands you can upload it to the Kea database that helps with conservation efforts.

Explore Arthur’s Pass

Devils Punchbowl

Devils Punchbowl is a spectacular waterfall in the heart of Arthur’s Pass National Park. The falls are popular among tourists and travellers because of how accessible they are. The walk is well maintained by the Department of Conservation and follow a number of flights of stairs that you must climb to reach a viewing platform looking out over the impressive Devils Punchbowl. Half an hour usually will give you enough time to reach Devils Punchbowl from the car park making a round trip of 45min to an hour. If you’re travelling between Christchurch and the West Coast of the South Island, I highly recommend taking a break in Arthur’s Pass for a breather and walking up to Devils Punchbowl.

Hike Arthur’s Pass

Temple Basin Track

Temple Basin Track is a walking track in Arthur’s Pass National Park that leads up to Temple Basin ski field. It is heavily used by club field skiers, riders and some mountaineers over the winter months. During the summer the track is used far less frequently, mostly by hikers and members of the ski field club that are making repairs to the club’s facilities. The track up to the skifield is relatively steep, especially if you are carrying your own ski gear up to the top. It’s not easy going. Temple Basin and the surrounding area is well known for kea sightings due to the alpine environment that the terrain covers. There are a number of traverses and summits that begin with or end along the Temple Basin Track. including Mount Cassidy – Blimit Traverse along with Temple Col – Goat Pass Traverse.

Bealey Spur

Bealey Spur is one of the most well known ‘day walks’ in Arthur’s Pass National Park. The walk starts from a small village called Bealey close to the township of Arthur’s Pass. The walk is reasonably popular amongst locals and tourists and will often be recommended by the DOC information centre in Arthur’s Pass. The hike takes you up through beech forest and alpine tussock with views up towards the Mingha valley and the head of the Waimakariri River. If this is your first-ever time hiking, Bealey Spur is a track that will give you a great taste of hiking.

Avalanche Peak

Avalanche Peak is a day hike in Arthurs Pass National Park with stunning views.  It is a gruelling climb to the summit of Avalanche Peak climbing to an altitude of 1883m.  Located in the heart of Arthur’s Pass, the beginning of the climb is easily accessible from SH73.  If you start the hike towards the end of the day it’s possible to catch sunset above the bush.  If the weather is looking good and you are keen to head to Arthur’s Pass, I would highly recommend Avalanche Peak as a day hike.

Lake Mavis

Lake Mavis is an alpine lake in Arthurs Pass National Park.  It lies below the summit of Mt Oates. For me, it was a bucket list hike that I had been keen to do for a while.  The idea of camping next to this body of water at 1600m surrounded by mountains sounded like a dream come true. The trip isn’t the easiest, however.  There is a well-marked track that follows right the way from the start to Goat Pass. From this point on it becomes a different game as you scale scree slopes, following only your instincts to reach Lake Mavis.  Experience in off-route navigation coupled with a good level of fitness is essential to comfortably complete this trip.

Lake Florence

Lake Florence is an alpine lake in Arthurs Pass National Park that sits just below Mt Armstrong. It is a beautiful spot, rarely visited by many. The route is both physically and technically demanding following an unmarked route for most of the hike. Even when the route is marked it can be difficult to find your way as you search for little orange triangles. With a small amount of searching, I was able to find an article and a post on people getting lost or only getting a chance to attempt the route. Please only attempt this route if you are an experienced tramper or mountaineer familiar with offtrack New Zealand conditions with a high level of fitness.