Driving over Arthur’s Pass

We said goodbye to Hokitika as we drove over the long Hokitika Bridge one last time. 

On to the dump station a little way out of town, with that job done we were on our way, turning onto SH73 at Kumera Junction to start our journey over Arthur’s Pass.  This is the first time we have driven this road, and we passed a sign advising not to tow caravans over this route.  Don't know why as plenty of huge trucks were traveling along, and Robin wasn't concerned at all.  We drove past Jackson, now the home of a popular motor camp.  Back in the day, the old Jackson tavern once provided accommodation and fresh horses for the coach parties making the arduous trip over the Southern Alps.   As we drove along further into the mountains, the scenery changed dramatically, with all those rugged mountains surrounding us.

There's Gollum on the roof of the Otira Stagecoach Hotel.  Wonder how he got there, still looking for that gold ring, presumably.

Otira Hotel

Driving merrily along, we came to the avalanche tunnel in the road and came to a screaming holt.  Just ahead of us was a heavy truck carrying a rather large piece of earthmoving equipment, and it was struggling up Otira Gorge. It was going so slow the tires kept slipping on the road, and the traffic was building up alarmingly behind us.  Bit by bit, the truck inched its way up the gorge, for at least 15 minutes, and I started worrying that we would stop and not get started again, or that our engine would overheat.  Finally, we all reached the top, the truck found somewhere to pull over, and we were on our way at a reasonable speed again, driving through Arthur’s Pass township.

From here to eternity, it seemed

Arthur’s Pass was named after surveyor Arthur Dobson, and in 1864 he explored the route seeking a way to supply West Coast miners from Christchurch.  The next year construction began and hundreds of workers braved the extreme conditions to complete the road in a year.  This was the start of a new era for the West Coast, the beginning of a coaching service, and later, a railway line across the Alps.  The road has improved over the years, although it is still rather steep in places as rather winding.

We stopped at Arthur’s Pass Station, 737m above sea level, joining a handful of interested people waiting for the Tranz Alpine train to emerge from the tunnel and pull into the station.  And here it is, pulled by six locos through the Otira tunnel.  Four of these were removed and the train continued on its way to Christchurch pulled by the remaining two.  We have been lucky enough to do this wonderful train trip twice before, and certainly wouldn't mind another trip someday.  As you can imagine, the train passes through some truly magnificent scenery as it crosses from one side of the South Island to the other.

Tranz Alpine

There was one more quick stop to make before heading to our overnight stop.  We are certainly surrounded by nature’s grandeur in this part of the country.

What a view

Our stop for the night was at Bealey Hotel, free parking for NZMCA members.  Three other vans joined us overnight. 

Of course, with free overnight parking, we had to give the hotel some custom, and booked in for our evening meal.  Very tasty is was too, lamb rump for him, and pork belly for her.  Check out the view from the dining room window.

Dining in the Bealey Hotel

Staying here gave me the opportunity to check off yet another hotel from my “Great Kiwi Pub Crawl Book”, which travels in the caravan with us.   The Bealey Hotel was established in 1865, and the current building is the third on the site.  The original hotels were coaching stops for traffic between Canterbury and the West Coast, and sadly succumbed to fire, as was often the fate of  many of these old buildings.  But the Bealey Hotel’s claim to fame was the supposed sighting of a moa in the Craigieburn Range by publican Paddy Freaney and two friends in 1993.  They produced a blurry photo of the moa, and another of an alleged footprint.  Many believed it was a publicity stunt to increase trade to Paddy’s pub, but the local and overseas media were very interested indeed by this story.  So much so that Paddy declared “that he wished he had never seen the bloody thing!”  But who knows what is hiding in the mountains and valleys. The hotel has a large moa statue in the grounds, and interestingly, serves Moa beer in the bar.

The moa of Bealey Hotel fame