Arthur’s Pass National Park is the closest National Park to Christchurch and despite being on most tourist itineraries we had yet to visit. Well, we had previously attempted to visit the park, but gave up when the road was flooded and the rain was so hard we could barely hold a conversation in the car! When we had a sunny weekend in early May we decided it was finally time to explore the national park.
The weather cooperated and we had a beautiful drive through the Waimakariri river valley. We decided to do a couple of shorter hikes to get a feel for the area starting with a trip up to the Temple Basin ski resort. After passing through Arthur’s Pass Village we noticed that cloud or fog was starting to collect in the valleys as we headed towards the western side of the park. By the time we reached the trailhead we were in thick fog with very limited viability. Having driven through bright sunshine on the way out we decided to try the hike and started off up a series of very steep switchbacks.
The trail climbed very quickly up what felt like the very edge of the mountain, luckily the fog meant we weren’t able to see much other than the rocks in front of us. Eventually, we climbed up out above the fog.
The trail continued to climb a little less steeply, and then changed direction to follow a ridge up towards the ski area.
After a few minutes the first of the ski buildings came into sight perched on the mountain side some distance above us. It is hard to believe what this area must be like in the winter; the only access is up the same trail we hiked up, although they do at least have a goods lift for your skis!
Once we arrived at the ski area we had the place to ourselves and were able to explore the lodges, bunkhouses and ski lifts that make up this small resort.
The fog remained in the valley below us, but high above the valley we had great views across to Mount Rolleston and the other peaks along the Otira valley.
We continued exploring the area, enjoying the sunshine and the easy walking across the tussock grass.
Eventually we decided to head back down the track to the car in order to explore another section of the park. Temple Basin was a great introduction to the National Park, and now we are thinking about the possibility of making the trek up there in the winter for some skiing.