Arthur's Pass National Park

The journey is the thing. Nowhere in New Zealand does this Homeric phrase resound more than at Arthur's Pass, where the way itself is the marvel. Highway 73 is one of the park's prized features. Humble bipeds need only point a car west from Christchurch to enjoy heady mountain vistas.

You don't need to be a mountain goat or a kea to get properly alpine. Arthur's Pass offers richly diverse landscapes: the beech forests and tussock grasslands of the eastern slopes give way to snowcapped mountains and wildflower fields; dense rainy forests dominate the west. Established in 1929, Arthur's Pass is the South Island's first national park and the home to the kea, a mountain parrot, and the rare great-spotted kiwi. Follow in the footsteps of ancient Maori hunters, 1860s gold rushers, and 1990s road workers who constructed the 440-meters (1,444-foot) Otira Viaduct. Each of the many twists and turns reveals another photo op: waterfalls, fields of wildflowers, dizzying drops. And it's all easily accessible from Christchurch.

BEST TIME TO GO

November through March bring gorgeous wildflowers to the park. Ski at Temple Basin from late June to early October. Remember: with 2000-meter (6,562-foot) peaks, the weather in the park can change for the worse anytime at this altitude.

Fun Fact

The enormous moa, a native New Zealand bird, has long been extinct. But according to Paddy Freaney, the former owner of the Arthur's Pass Bealey Hotel, a moa popped up in a nearby valley! Despite Paddy's photographic evidence (a blurry image of a large running bird), many scientists remain dubious of his claims.