Bike Trip

Sunday 27 November; Arthur's Pass. Second visit for me, this time on the bike. 9.30am meet at the Yaldhurst pub which is only notable for the gravel in the car park not black stuff. Bit of a chin wag, starting to recognise familiar faces and make a few friends. By 10am there's about 20 bikes, which is a great turnout. We're off to Arthur's Pass which is a great road once you get out of the Canterbury plains. State Highway 73 rises out of the plains and begins with great big sweeping corners past Castle Hill, so called not because there's a castle there (more's the pity) but becuase the rock formations look a bit like battlements. The otherwise deserted roadside is busy here with trampers parked up, I'll have to come back with the family as it looks a good spot. Past Castle Hill the road tightens up as it climbs through Porter's Pass and winds through increasingly dramatic gorges before leaving the Waimakiriri River basin and climbing to Arthur's Pass Village. Arthur's Pass itself is another 4 km, and sits at 920 m AOD, wedged between the 2,771 m Mount Rolleston and the 1,913 m Mount Temple.

The Kiwi Bikers on the Canterbury Plains, and yes there was a meet of Austin Healey's at the Yaldhurst too, many of whom came to admire the bikes (mainly Daryl's Motto Guzzi V11 Nero Corsa).


Parked up in Arthur's Pass Village, Department of Conservation station behing which has a great scale model of the Southern Alps, split down the middle so you can walk between the east and west halves of the South Island.

The Pass itself, the Otira viaduct was only opened in 1999 and apparently saves 30 minutes over the previous route.

Lunch at the Bealey Hotel, the wide braided gravel river bed of the Waimakiriri to the left.