Arthurs Pass

This is one of the main routes through the South Alps Mountains to get from Christchurch in the east to Greymouth on the west coast of the South Island. Stella & I decided that as we hadn’t done this route and we’d been told that the scenery was stunning, we would make the 300km round trip to the town of Arthur’s Pass in Jen's car,

which is New Zealand’s highest-altitude town at 924m. The route is actually an old Maori crossing route, made famous by Arthur Dobson in 1864 when the Westland gold rush created enormous pressure to find a crossing from Christchurch. The drive was a nice one as you start on the flat of the Canterbury Plans. As we left Chch, the weather over the mountains looked not so nice, clouds where hanging around the mountain tops, but we decided to go anyway. Stella rigged up her ipod so we could listen to some of the songs we’d become very accustomed too. The flat straight boring road turned into the very wynding roads that I think of when I think of NZ. It’s not so nice when a lorry is, to coin a phase, ‘up your bum’ at 90-100km/ph. Lots of pulling in to let them passed. The scenery was totally amazing and as I am also learning, you really can have 4 seasons in one day here. The weather turned out to be a very hot, clear, glorious day. It took a good 2 hours if not longer to get to the town of Arthur’s Pass. We went to the tourist information centre and had a look round. This areas were serious walkers come to walk. That’s not us by the way!!

We went one of the 2 café in the town and had pie. I had been craving pie as one of the towns we’d been through had a huge sign advertising pies. I had mince (mouth is watering now thinking about it) and Stella has the peppered steak. All the tables outside on the veranda where full, apart from one which had just one person on, so I asked if we could sit there. She said yes, but warned me about the Kea birds. These are rather large green alpine parrot birds which are only native in NZ, Jen’s told me that if they eat too much human food they become hyper. They are cheeky little buggers!!! The girl that I was sat opposite told me that she had turned her back and the bird had stolen her packet of crisps. Now there is no way a bird is stealing my dinner from me. The pie was nice and the cookies and cream ice cream after was even nicer.

We did decide to do a 30 minute walk to help lunch settle. So we drove 6km south (back towards Chch) and pulled off the road at the car park. Headed one way and realised that that was not to right route. So about turned and went back to the car, only to find a map in the shelter by the car. The correct route was the other way from the car, so off we trot and then 2 mins into our walk we couldn’t go any further as there was a rope across the path saying that the bridge was under construction. The only reason that we had decided to do this walk was the description said that it was suitable for blind people and that at the end of the walk there was a rope which could guide you round. We where going to give that a go! So instead we turned around linked arms and tried to walk back to the car with our eyes shut. We actually only managed a few steps as Stella thought I was guiding her, not that I had my eye’s closed too.