After visiting Aroaki / Mont cook, and considering our “advance on planning”, we decided to extend the fun by giving us a bonus loop to Arthur’s Pass that we never really had the opportunity to take despite his reputation. So it was after a refueling stop at Christchurch that we gone on the pretty roads of Arthur’s Pass to be amzed by eyes and heart again !

Castle hill

As there are not so much free campsites on the road, we choose to spend a night on the lake Lyndon shores where the stop is tolerated.

The next day we will make our first official stop at the castle hill. Here you can find a limestone blocks accumulation naturally scattered on the hill, that could make you think about the ruins of an abandoned castle. An unusual and adventure place, there is no predefined path so we let our footsteps take us on such a rock or in such a corner. Natural arch, climbing path, cavities, labyrinth, all forms a huge natural playground by which one is easily seduced.

Arthur’s pass village

We arrived at the Arthur’s Pass village in the same day and discovered this very small place perfectly arranged for the hikers welcome.

Actually, if you don’t want to be engage in some of the proposed walks, then there is not much to do there.

The most famous hike is the ” Avalanche peak ” one, it takes about 8 hours to finish it, on a steep and dangerous track. Both of us have been to tired by all the previous days of walking and all these beautiful hikes already made in the country, so we opted for shorter and easier walks.

Devils Punchbowl waterfall

We will start with the short ascent leading to a beautiful 130m high waterfall, easy to access and always pleasant it’s the kind of little walk that gets you in the mood for the next events.

Arthur pass walking track

This is the second walk that we choose to make, 3h of an easy track through the vegetation, along the river and delivering great views of the surrounding peaks. It’s unfortunately not very well marked, so we never knew where we were in the course of the hike and when to turn back. Anyway, we still appreciated the charm of the place even if we didn’t see the shadow of a mountain parrot, the Kea.

The death corner

After our ride back and a late picnic, we decided to leave the Arthur’s pass village behind us to continue our on our road. Our next stop was at the “death corner” point of view. The latter is nothing more than the great viaduct, of a height and a vertiginous slope, crossing the Otira gorges. A sweet blend of surrealism and the science prowess that is pleasant to see. As a bonus, it’s on this parking area that we finally met a whole family of curious and players keas. A surprising stop for an unexpected meeting, a great time for us.

After this moment, we decided to leave the pass to sleep on the Lake Brunner shores. We found there a very nice free campsite close to the water, we also had the joy to take a swim in the lake before the night. The next morning, we hiked on the lake heights before continuing toward our next stop, Kaikoura, via the city of Hanmer spring.

We really enjoyed this little bonus that we wanted to accord to us in the Arthur’s Pass National Park. Even if we didn’t make the well-known big hikes of the park, we took a lot of pleasure to discover, once again, this very beautiful and privileged environment. Few more kilometers that we welcomed without the slightest regret.Nous avons vraiment apprécié ce petit bonus que nous avons souhaité nous accorder dans le parc national d’Arthur’s pass.