Arthur’s Pass National Park

The 1929 Arthur’s Pass National Park is a National Park in the northern center of New Zealand’s South Island. It includes a 1,145 km ² large area in the New Zealand Alps (Southern Alps). The park is located on the historic route from Canterbury to the West Coast and is now managed by the Highway State Highway.
The landscape of the park is dominated by high mountains, mountain rivers and deep ravines. It clearly shows the traces of the huge glaciers during the last ice age left in it. On both sides of the main Alps of New Zealand there are very different habitats.  The forests on the east side almost exclusively consist of beech. Above the tree line you will find alpine vegetation.

The New Zealand Alps form a climate in the park boundary: while in Otira on the west side of the mountains each year there is about 5000mm of precipitation falling in Bealey on the east side.  “Only” about 1500mm (for comparison: in Berlin there are about 550mm pa).

The precipitation falls mainly from June to September and in the higher elevations throughout the year there is snow. The best known species in Arthur’s Pass National Park is the Kea. New Zealand’s only pure mountain bird, the Felsschlupfer (Xenicus gilviventris) also can be seen in the park.

Arthur’s Pass Village

First point of contact for visitors to the park is Arthur’s Pass Village, which is also accessible by public transport. The village is the starting point of several hiking trails. For multi-day hikes through the mountains in Arthur’s Pass National Park there are several simple cabins available. In addition, the park with his 16 Zweitausendern, is a traditional destination for climbers.