Christchurch to Greymouth
West Coast Self Drive Travel Guide
Travel Facts
Distance: 250 km (158 miles)
Approximately: 3 hours 40 minutes
Road Conditions:
State Highway 73 Christchurch to Kumara Junction
State Highway 6 Kumara Junction to Greymouth
This guide sponsored by: Chapel Hill B&B, Greymouth
Christchurch - Arthurs Pass - Kumara - Greymouth
The majestic Southern Alps divide the South Island and backdrop the wide Canterbury plains where Christchurch sits at the base of Akaroa peninsular on the eastern coast line.
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Rural serenity and friendly towns lead you across the Canterbury Plains. You pass through Kirwee, Darfield, Sheffield and Springfield, on the gentle rise to the foothills and the climb over 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, the Southern Alps are still to be crossed. 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. It takes about an hour and a half driving to get through the Alps (of course if you stopped to look at everything along the way this could easily become days).
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.
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Lakes Pearson (photo right) 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 over 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.
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.
Welcome to Arthur's 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 as you go by. They always have a good set of information as well as periodic talks by DOC, guided walks etc.
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.
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Christchurch - Arthur's Pass - Greymouth
Following the latest upgrades to the road through the Otira Gorge, which was always a problem with falling rocks, slips and steep gradients in icy conditions, means these problems are gone and you now travel across sweeping viaducts.
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This area was a source of gold and Greenstone. Some of the best Greenstone came as a bonus from the gold mining activities - it is an unusually dark green, almost black.
Once you are through the pass, the misty mountains gradually give way to classic west coast river and forest scenery. Rushing water, impressive bridges and tiny towns are soulfully picturesque.
Just after Arthur's Pass village, and only about 1km from the top of the pass itself, you pass Mount Rolleston. Kea, New Zealand's Alpine Parrot frequent this area, clowning for handouts and then ripping the rubber seal from your windscreen when you're not looking.
After crossing the summit of Arthurs the road descends into the steep bush clad Otira Gorge on the West Coast side of the alps. Otira was once a busy railway settlement at the western end of the 8.6km rail tunnel through the Alps. This is an area of rugged natural beauty especially so when the Rata are blooming.
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The West coast is on the prevailing weather side of the island, and has huge rainfall as a result - over 6 metres annually in Milford Sound, But only around 3 metres in the Arthur's Pass area. With the Alps dividing the Island from top to bottom, the East coast is resultantly drier, while the lush West Coast is still mostly blanketed in temperate rain-forest.
Following the winding road and short straights down from the Otira Gorge you will come to the historic Jackson's Hotel as the road winds it's way down to Kumara and the Junction with State Highway 6.
The Kumara Junction is a another unique carriage way of New Zealand with the rail line between Greymouth and Hokitika running through it. Remember Trains always have the right of way.
On to Chapel Hill B&B
From Kumara Junction follow the signs north toward Greymouth and the Taramakau road rail bridge. Do slow down when approaching the bridge and be sure it is clear before driving onto it.
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The drive north is approximately 20 minutes to Paroa and the turn into Rutherglen Road, that will take you to Chapel Hill B&B. For precise directions from Paroa to Chapel Hill please see the information on www.chapelhill.co.nz
From Paroa it is just 8 minutes drive to Chapel Hill where Joy, John and Crash are looking forward to welcoming you to their little piece of paradise.
Look for the Chapel Hill sign (photo right), on Rutherglen Road, approximately five minutes after you pass Shantytown, which is perfectly located for the start of tomorrows adventures on the West Coast.
Shantytown
This is one of New Zealand's award winning, premier attractions. A replica 1880's mining town set on one of the Coasts former gold rush sites, Shantytown includes steam train rides, gold panning (you are guaranteed to find it), and historic buildings all set amongst the glorious regenerating native bush.
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at Shantytown, Rutherglen Road, Greymouth |
Gold-panning is a must. A short walk through the bush brings visitors to the gold panning area where you can discover for yourself the wonder of finding 'colour'. Nearby there is is an old sluicing claim, a rough shanty or back country Hotel and other historic structures.
The township itself is also well worth the time to explore, with literally thousands of relics to be seen within each of the buildings, of course you could simply go to gaol without passing Go, or just relax with a light meal at 'Everybodys Tearooms' a fully licensed café that also offers morning and afternoon tea along with espresso coffee. read more | web site
Welcome to Greymouth - enjoy your stay.
This Guide Last Updated September 2010.
Driving Distance and Times
The distances and times are based on travel at an average of 80 to 90kmph in good weather and light to medium traffic, allowing for a break of 10 minutes from driving in each full hour.
Allow extra time for:
Sight seeing, Heavier traffic conditions, Inclement weather and any other needs you have.
There are many factors beyond the authors and our control that can and will impact upon the true distance travelled and time taken to complete any journey.
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