The Great Alpine Highway

The Great Alpine Highway is aptly named, and traverses the Southern Alps between Christchurch and the West Coast. Following roughly the same route as the famed TranzAlpine Rail journey, the Great Alpine Highway takes you from east coast to mountain-top to west coast, all in a matter of hours.

Because of the varied landscapes you will encounter, this truly is one of New Zealand's most breathtaking touring routes.

CHRISTCHURCH & CANTERBURY PLAINS: Beginning in Christchurch the Great Alpine Highway takes you west out of the city, through the outer suburb of Yaldhurst. Once out of the city the vast Canterbury Plains open out in front of you - with the stunning Southern Alps creating a breathtaking backdrop to your travels. Towns encountered on the plains include Kirwee and Darfield - service areas to the Canterbury Plains.

LAKE COLERIDGE: A detour off the main route takes you to Lake Coleridge. This is an adventure playground, offering ice skating (in the winter), skiing, jet boating, horse trekking, golf and much more. En route to Lake Coleridge you will also pass through the stunning Rakaia Gorge - the perfect location for fly fishing or jet boating.

PORTERS PASS AND ARTHUR'S PASS: Porters Pass and Arthur's Pass are home to the region's finest ski areas - with Porters Ski Area, Temple Basin, Craigieburn, Broken River and Mt Cheeseman all accessed off the Great Alpine Highway. Lake Lyndon, in Porters Pass, also offers ice skating during cold winters, and picnicking.

Castle Hill village is a great place to stay for extended visits - and is a great springboard to the region's ski areas and hiking tracks. It is also close to Castle Hill Rocks (Kura Tawhiti) which are a popular tourist attraction, and offer rock climbing and caving.

Arthur's Pass Village is the major stop off point enroute to the West Coast, and is a superb base for short and multi-day hikes in the Arthur's Pass area.

OTIRA VIADUCT & THE WEST COAST: The Otira Viaduct is a stunning feat of engineering - linking the Southern Alps to the West Coast. This important access route provided a much needed rail link between the east and west coasts, and is also a great photo opportunity.

From Otira the West Coast opens up - with the landscape changing dramatically from alpine to rainforest. Greymouth is the first major West Coast town you will encounter. From Greymouth you can head north to Punakaiki and Westport, or south to Hokitika and the Franz Josef/Fox Glaciers.