Arthurs Pass lodge accommodation, New Zealand
| country: | New Zealand |
| location: | Arthur’s Pass, Canterbury, South Island |
| price: | From NZ $290 - NZ $360 (mountain view rooms) or NZ $390 - NZ $490 (alpine lodges) per person per night, based on twin/double and depending on season. Includes dinner, breakfast, use of facilities and 2 daily short guided activities (3 hours total). |
description
24 room boutique wilderness lodge in Arthur’s Pass NP.
Few places on earth can match the unique natural setting of this lodge in a wide mountain valley beneath towering peaks and surrounded by the Arthur’s Pass National Park.
The architecturally designed Lodge is landscaped into a native beech forest clearing so that from a distance it is almost invisible. Yet from every Lodge window there is a stunning view of the Southern Alps. Cars are discreetly hidden in a forest clearing and the lodge is accessed up a winding forest pathway. All guest rooms face to the sun and look out to grand mountain views.
The lodge offers a high level of comfort in 20 attractive mountain view rooms and 4 luxury alpine lodges. The restaurant, lounge, library and conference rooms all look out onto the Southern Alps. A gourmet meal and a relaxed drink as you watch changing light and clouds on snow capped peaks is a wonderful wilderness tonic in a hectic world. Radiating from the lodge is a network of 30km of beech forest, river and open tussockland walks. There is a fleet of canoes used to explore nearby lakes and the Waimakariri River where trout fishing is also possible.
The lodge’s farm team will introduce you to New Zealand high country sheep farming cultural heritage through sheep dog displays, sheep shearing and caring for new born orphan lambs. Using shearing and mustering techniques that are largely unchanged for 100 years, the farm not only supplies wool for the fashion clothing sold in the lodge shop, it also provides high quality mountain lamb, beef and pork for the lodge’s restaurant.
A team of nature guides from the lodge will introduce you to the Southern Cross and Milky Way, kea parrots and 60 species of birds, the world’s largest buttercup and many other species of alpine flowers. You will discover a huge range of mountain landscapes from dry desert to alpine herbfields and glaciers. There is a constantly changing programme of walking and canoe adventures organised by the lodge.
Few places on earth can match the unique natural setting of this lodge in a wide mountain valley beneath towering peaks and surrounded by the Arthur’s Pass National Park.
The architecturally designed Lodge is landscaped into a native beech forest clearing so that from a distance it is almost invisible. Yet from every Lodge window there is a stunning view of the Southern Alps. Cars are discreetly hidden in a forest clearing and the lodge is accessed up a winding forest pathway. All guest rooms face to the sun and look out to grand mountain views.
The lodge offers a high level of comfort in 20 attractive mountain view rooms and 4 luxury alpine lodges. The restaurant, lounge, library and conference rooms all look out onto the Southern Alps. A gourmet meal and a relaxed drink as you watch changing light and clouds on snow capped peaks is a wonderful wilderness tonic in a hectic world. Radiating from the lodge is a network of 30km of beech forest, river and open tussockland walks. There is a fleet of canoes used to explore nearby lakes and the Waimakariri River where trout fishing is also possible.
The lodge’s farm team will introduce you to New Zealand high country sheep farming cultural heritage through sheep dog displays, sheep shearing and caring for new born orphan lambs. Using shearing and mustering techniques that are largely unchanged for 100 years, the farm not only supplies wool for the fashion clothing sold in the lodge shop, it also provides high quality mountain lamb, beef and pork for the lodge’s restaurant.
A team of nature guides from the lodge will introduce you to the Southern Cross and Milky Way, kea parrots and 60 species of birds, the world’s largest buttercup and many other species of alpine flowers. You will discover a huge range of mountain landscapes from dry desert to alpine herbfields and glaciers. There is a constantly changing programme of walking and canoe adventures organised by the lodge.
special things to do and see here
Southern Alps discovery walks: The lodge has its own extensive (30km long) walking trail network that we maintain. This includes Rainbow Valley Nature Walk (3km round), the McKay Moa Forest and Wild Boar Hill Track (6km round), Broad Stream Gorge-Harper Saddle Track (12 km round) and the Waimakariri Valley Walk/Mountain Bike Trail (7km round). These walks also link with a network of Conservation Department National and Forest Park Trails best known of which is the Cass-Lagoon Saddle 2-day walk and Bealey Spur Track. Walks are available in the Upper Otira and Bealey Valley alpine flower gardens. Mountain trips to snowfields and glaciers, waterfalls and mountain beech forest. These are guided under our Conservation Department Guiding Concession CA 15048 GUI. - Cycling: Several cycle tour operators use the Wilderness Lodge. Most of these only cycle on the sealed Highway 73. There is also a popular mountain bike route on our property (Waimakariri Valley Track 7km round trip) and the 35km Mount White Road is ideal for mountain biking.
- Snow skiing is possible from the Lodge between June and September. Nearby skifields are Temple Basin 19km, Craigieburn 28km, Broken River 35km and Porters 55km.
- Canoeing is a very popular sport here. We have a well-maintained fleet of 18 single canoes that we use on nearby Lake Pearson, Lake Sarah and the Waimakariri River.
Guided limestone castle and cave trips into the dry lands of the Castle Hill Basin home to rare plants and birds. - Nature discovery and birdwatching in the moss forest, moa shrublands, arid riverbeds and alpine screes and flower gardens.
- Merino sheep farm discovery of the 5,000 super fine merino sheep and 200 Angus cattle of the lodge farm. Every second day there is a 90 minute long guided farm tour. Border collie sheepdogs muster sheep and guests have the chance to help old-fashioned blade shear a merino sheep. The wool goes to the Italian fashion industry and supplies famous New Zealand clothing brands such as Icebreaker.
- Relaxation with the best New Zealand wines in an architecturally acclaimed lodge with views across 60 km of mountains.
- Spa baths in the alpine lodges which look out into primeval beech forest rich in birds.
- Brown trout fishing (these are an introduced fish to New Zealand)
- Swimming: In summer guests swim in the pure clear waters of Lake Pearson. This is much more ecological than a pool.
rooms, food and facilities
We have 20 mountain view rooms all with magnificent views and private bathrooms, 4 alpine lodges also all with grand views that look into the beech forest and a mountain clearing. These also all have private spa baths with forest views.
Communal facilities include: Restaurant Conference room Lounge and bar with extensive list of NZ & Australian wines Complimentary guest laundry / driers / drying room Historic library Complimentary satellite broadband wireless internet 2,400 hectares of nature reserve and farm owned by the lodge and surrounded by the 115,000hectare Arthur’s Pass National Park. 
Tame farm animals for guests to feed 30km of lodge beech forest and mountain walking trails including 2 self-interpreted nature walks.
Family friendly:
Wildlife discovery, beech forest and mountain walks and high country farm and farm animal discovery makes the lodge ideal for families. The lodge is family friendly and our nature adventures are adapted for children where they make up our guest mix. We accept people with babies at the lodge but are not geared up to provide activities or babysitting for children 2 years and under.
Disabled access:
The lodge has 3 disabled rooms (12.5% of capacity). It is located on a relatively flat landscape that makes access easy.
The lodge's farm buildings and farm animals are all easily accessible on foot or by car so that disabled people can enjoy this dimension. The forest and mountain walks are generally not suitable for wheelchairs. Lodge canoes are suitable for paraplegics and have been used by them.
Accessible by road / rental car on State Highway 73 and located in the heart of the Southern Alps 140 km west of Christchurch and 110 km east of Greymouth / Hokitika. Accessible by Tranz Alpine Train. This departs 8.15am daily from Christchurch, 10.37am from Arthur’s Pass Station and 1.30pm from Greymouth Station to return to Christchurch and arriving there at 6.30pm. Public transport services. 3 shuttle bus services daily from Christchurch and Greymouth. A bus service continues through to our other lodge on Lake Moeraki.
Communal facilities include: Tame farm animals for guests to feed Family friendly:
Wildlife discovery, beech forest and mountain walks and high country farm and farm animal discovery makes the lodge ideal for families. The lodge is family friendly and our nature adventures are adapted for children where they make up our guest mix. We accept people with babies at the lodge but are not geared up to provide activities or babysitting for children 2 years and under.
Disabled access: The lodge has 3 disabled rooms (12.5% of capacity). It is located on a relatively flat landscape that makes access easy.
The lodge's farm buildings and farm animals are all easily accessible on foot or by car so that disabled people can enjoy this dimension. The forest and mountain walks are generally not suitable for wheelchairs. Lodge canoes are suitable for paraplegics and have been used by them.
how to find us
The lodge is on its own 2400 hectare / 6,000 acre nature reserve / merino sheep farm in the heart of the Southern Alps midway between Christchurch and Greymouth. Accessible by road / rental car on State Highway 73 and located in the heart of the Southern Alps 140 km west of Christchurch and 110 km east of Greymouth / Hokitika. how this holiday makes a difference
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The lodge was established so visitors could discover and enjoy the huge diversity of natural landscapes, plants and animals in the Southern Alps. We also celebrate the cultural diversity and history of a historic high country sheep station, Cora Lynn.
We operate under our 2006 Conservation and Environment Protection Policy and Operation Plan. We are leaders in our community in the protection of nature through sensitive nature tourism. This has resulted in strong community support for protecting high country lands and wildlife in the Southern Alps. In our 10 years of operation we have achieved some specific conservation goals. In 2004, we helped to create the Lake Pearson Wildlife Refuge to protect endangered waterbirds from powerboats and jetskiis. In 2001 we helped create New Zealand’s first Tussockland Park, 22,000ha Korowai-Torlesse to protect dry mountain ecosystems. In 2000-2003 we encouraged the establishment of the Operation Ark pest control programme in National Park land surrounding the Lodge to save critically endangered orange fronted parakeet and yellowhead birds. We have worked to safeguard around half our property- an area of 1200ha as a nature reserve. This has involved the fencing of these areas to exclude domestic stock. Over 10 years we have run a pest control programme in these areas to kill introduced rats, mice, possums and European stoats to save native birds and rare plants. We lead by example. Since the establishment of the lodge 10 years ago a range of other eco tourism businesses in our region and elsewhere in New Zealand have followed our lead and we have encouraged them to do this. We continue to provide a mentor role to many of these businesses. We have inspired tens of thousands of lodge visitors over 10 years of operation with our passion for nature, wildlife and “going easy on the earth”. We do not allow tourist helicopters or jet boats to operate from the lodge. Visitors are inspired by the sympathetic architecture and landscaped surroundings, the great food, wine, hospitality and our enthusiasm for discovering and appreciating nature from the lodge. We have large numbers of return guests to the lodges.  The beech forests and birdlife around the lodge have also benefited from the pest control efforts that we carry out and by those that are carried out by the Department of Conservation in surrounding lands. These have received our strong and public support in the face of some controversy. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |