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Short
and day walks
The road over Arthur's Pass gives
easy access to an alpine environment rich in interesting landscape
features, mountain scenery, forests, alpine grasslands, and
flower fields in season. From the vicinity of Arthur's Pass
Village there is a good choice of short walks, of various durations
(ranging from half an hour to a full day) and degrees of difficulty.
Among the shorter walks both the Devils Punchbowl
Falls and Bridal Veil tracks lead to spectacular waterfalls.
Dobson Nature Walk passes through alpine grasslands of tussock,
shrubs and, in season, alpine flowers. Cockayne Nature Walk
loops through some podocarp forest typical of the western side
of the divide.
Walks up to one day long lead into the alpine valleys
and to summits surrounding Arthur's Pass Village, such as the
Otira and Bealy valleys, and Avalanche Peak, Mt Bealy, and others.
Features of interest include high alpine vegetation, glacial
landforms (moraines, tarns) and fault scarps in places.
Some of these longer walks may involve river crossings,
and include steep or difficult sections.
Tramping
The mountainous terrain of Arthur's Pass National
Park, with long wild valleys linked by high passes, make it
an favourable area for tramping. The proximity of major urban
centres, ease of access by road and rail, and a good array of
hut and bivouacs, all contribute to its popularity among trampers.
A number of the main routes involve a crossing of the main divide.
Some of the easier routes, such as the Casey Saddle-Binser Saddle
and the Mingha-Deception, have tracks for most of the way, and
do not require potentially difficult river crossings. Most of
the tramping routes, however, have difficult sections, often
due to steep terrain, difficult or impossible river crossings
during heavy rain or avalanche danger in winter.
Mountaineering
The mountains of Arthur's Pass may not
stand among the best mountaineering places in New Zealand, but
they provide a range of opportunities and act as a good training
ground for mountaineers. The most popular summit
is Mt Rolleston (2271 m/7450'), which is close to the road and
can be climbed in one day from Christchurch. Most
other areas involve an approach of long tramps up valleys or
through bush and scree. The most serious climbing is located
in the upper Waimakariri River (on Mts Murchison, Harper and
Carrington, as well as Mts Temple and Rolleston), and on Mts
Franklin and Oates east of the Mingha-Deception valleys.
The rock is mostly greywacke, usually shattered
and loose, although there are good areas on buttresses on Mts
Temple, Philistine and Speight.
In winter there is good ice climbing in gullies
on Mt Temple, and on the Crow face of Mt Rolleston. The easier
slopes of Avalanche Peak and Mt Bealy are popular ground for
snow and ice practice.
Skiing
Fishing
The braided bed of the Waimakariri
river does not provide good habitat for trout but there are
some large brown trout in its upper reaches. There is also good
back-country fishing in the Poulter River. In both cases tramping
experience is required.
Hunting
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