Arthurs National Park, 7875, Canterbury Region, New Zealand
The highest pass over the Southern Alps, Arthur’s Pass was historically known to Maori hunting parties as a route between east and west.
The eastern side of Arthur’s Pass National Park is characterised by wide, shingle-filled riverbeds and vast beech forests. The western side of the park, where wet weather is more common than dry, has deeply gorged rivers flowing through dense rainforest. Down the middle of ‘the great divide’ is an alpine dreamland of snow-covered peaks, glaciers and scree slopes.
Most people arrive in Arthur’s Pass National Park by road – a spectacular piece of extreme civil engineering involving viaducts, bridges, rock shelters and waterfalls redirected into chutes. When Arthur Dobson first encountered the precipitous Otira Gorge, the pass was almost impassable – he had to leave his horse at the top and lower his dog on a rope.
Epic New Zealand Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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