Canterbury National Parks
The West
Canterbury region is bordered by the Southern Alps and boasts two national parks:
Arthur's Pass National ParkThis 99,270 hectare park is located in the Southern Alps and served by the resort town of
Arthur's Pass, which provides hotel and motel accommodation and a YHA hostel. Renowned for its wild mountain scenery, including glaciers and waterfalls, the park is home to New Zealand's cheeky native parrot, the kea. It is home to the famous Arthur's Pass (920 metres), a scenic pass through the Bealey and Otira Gorges, which is named after surveyor Arthur Dudley Dobson. There is winter skiing and alpine sports at Temple Basin and several mountain clubs maintain huts. The Department of Conservation maintains huts and tracks for hikers.
Mount Cook National Park This 355,518 hectare park, featuring subalpine scrub and tussock vegetation, forms part of Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Area. More than a third of the park is permanent snow and glacier ice. The native kea is found here, and check out the Mount Cook lily (Ranunculus lyallis), there are plenty of them! The resort village of
Mount Cook enjoys a spectacular location within the park, providing hotel, motel and motor camping accommodation, and a YHA hostel. Skiing is available on the Ball and Tasman glaciers. Walks include the shorter Bowen Track and longer trails such as the Wakefield, Hooker Valley, Sealy Tarns and Red Tarns tracks. There are opportunities for fishing and mountaineering, and huts are provided for hikers and climbers. If you want to go hunting, you'll need a permit.
Scenic Highlights of the Park: - New Zealand's highest mountain - Mount Cook
At 3754 metres, the highest peak of the Southern Alps gives the park its name. - New Zealand's longest glacier - Tasman Glacier
At 29 kilometres long and up to 3 kilometres wide, the Tasman is one of the longest glaciers in the world outside the polar regions.
For more information contact:
Christchurch Canterbury Marketing
PO Box 2600
ChristchurchEmail Christchurch Canterbury Marketing
