Christchurch to Arthurs Pass
Canterbury Self Drive Travel Guide

  Travel Facts
Distance: 170 km (106 miles)
Approximately: 2 hours
Road Conditions: State Highway 73

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Christchurch to Arthur's Pass

Seperating the flat pastural Canterbury plains from Arthurs Pass and the village are the majestic Southern Alps.

Rural serenity and friendly towns lead you across as you pass through Kirwee, Darfield, Sheffield and Springfield, on the gentle rise to the foothills and the climb over Porters Pass.

Porters Pass

Approximately 90 kilometres from Christchurch, Porters Pass rises to 945 metres at it's summit and while you may believe you have entered the mountain range you have in fact only crossed the first hurdle. It is incredible to think that thousands of diggers walked, trudged and dragged themselves over this pass in search of their fortunes during the gold rush years on the West Coast.

Soon after crossing Porter's the highway passes Castle Rocks - limestone outcrops, look for the fence posts near the bottom of the biggest rocks.

Into the Alps

The road now winds into the skiing area of Porter Heights and Craigieburn as it follows the Waimakariri (literally Cold Water) and Bealey Rivers up to Arthur's Pass Village.

Lakes Pearson and Grasmere are photo opportunities along the way. Lake Pearson is situated soon after Castle Rock. The scree fans from mountains on either side have almost pinched it in two, resulting in a classical hourglass shaped lake.

The route to Arthur's Pass contains one feature in the journey that was once common to all New Zealand roads, the single lane bridge. The turn onto the bridge at Bealey on the southern bank (Canterbury end) is a sharp right hander so please be careful.

Apart from this throw back to an almost forgotten era, today the Arthur's route is a sophisticated mountain pass, memorable for its scenery as well as its breathtaking civil engineering.

Winter Snow blankets the Bealey

Near the Bealey you will experience unsurpassed views of the magnificent and majestic mountain ranges at the head waters of the Waimakariri. These are places of permanent snow.

As the journey continues and you enter the last few kilometres into Arthur's Pass Village the deep beech forest seems to arch overhead where on the hottest of summer days in the infamous Canterbury Nor' Wester the change of temperature can be a welcome relief. While in winter the road may be still frosted with snow.

Arthurs Pass Village.

The settlement of Arthur's Pass is a base for climbing, hiking, hunting and skiing adventures in the adjacent national park. There is a good choice of short walks. A stop at the information centre is a must. They always have a good set of information as well as periodic talks by DOC, guided walks etc.

Arthurs Pass Village

The name of the Pass and township is from 'Arthur Dudley Dobson' who re-discovered the old Maori Alpine route in 1864. The village is unique in New Zealand as one of the true mountain villages and sits 5 kilometres to the east (Canterbury side) of the Pass summit, which marks the boundary with the West Coast.

There are many interesting and scenic places to visit, we suggest the starting point should be the Department of Conservation (DOC) Center. Here you will find all the information you could imagine about the flora, fauna and walks in the Park region.

 

Welcome to Arthur's Pass Village - enjoy your stay

This Guide last Updated: November 2010