At the Otira Viaduct Lookout, Arthurs Pass NP: 18 September 2022

 A enviable view on the route over Arthur's Pass

I was up in Arthurs Pass NP last weekend walking the Arthurs Pass Walking Track (post to follow). after walking the track I drove back up to the Deaths corner Lookout to have a look at the Otira Viaduct. I was last here in May when Karen and I were on our way to Punakaiki for a long weekend here is the post about that trip.

The Otira Valley from the Lookout at Death's corner

The Otira Viaduct is an awesome piece of engineering and when it was completed in 1999 it was one of the most difficult construction jobs under taken in New Zealand up to that time. The builders had to contend with extreme weather, isolation, difficult terrain and some serious engineering problems but the project was finished on time and under budget. 

The Otira Viaduct is 440 meters long

It is an inspiring site from the Lookout which is an old section of SH 73 which used to snake up and over the huge shingle scree face coming down off Hills Peak and Mt Stuart. It is the ideal location for a lookout as it has clear unobstructed views down onto most of the Viaduct. 

Looking up to Hills Peak (1645) from the Viaduct Lookout

Waterfall on the southern side of the Otira Valley

Anyone traveling from the east coast to the west coast on SH73 drives over the Viaduct so it is really impossible to miss. You drive past the turn off to the Deaths Corner Lookout so it is very simple thing to stop for a few moments to check out the view. 

View back to Arthurs Pass from the Viaduct Lookout

View to Mt Barron (1730) from the Viaduct Lookout

Once the Viaduct was completed there was no need for the old road so the approaches on the Arthur's Pass side were turned into a magnificent lookout point. There is a sign posted turn off at the old Deaths Corner with views right down the Otira River Valley. You can see about four kilometers down the valley from here with high mountains closely following the route of the Otira River.

The Viaduct is up to 35 meters above the Otira Valley floor

Before the Viaduct any trip over this pass was always a sphincter clenching experience...it was winding, narrow and heinously steep. Many was the older English car that cooked an engine climbing the switchback road from Candy's Corner to Arthurs Pass.

...steep drop off to the floor of the Otira Valley...

V shaped buttresses protect the Viaduct support columns

There are two fine fenced off lookouts here and both have good views down to the viaduct, Otira River and down the Otira Valley. In fine weather or rain they provide magnificent views of this rugged section of the park. 

A word of caution though...do not cross the fences...there are significant drops from the lookout and a fall from here would not be good for your health. 

SH73 is the road over Arthur's Pass

The Viaduct was opened in 1999 by the PM of the day

You can back up to Arthurs Pass from the lookout as it is only about 2 kilometers up to the head of the Pass. You could walk to the Lookout from Arthurs Pass using the Arthurs Pass Walking Track but you would on the road shoulder from the Pass to the Lookout and I cannot really recommend this on such a narrow and very busy road. 

The access road is an old section of SH73

It is interesting sitting up near the Lookout and watching the cars, trucks and Campervans coming up the Viaduct. The gradient is not that bad but it still looks painful...

A series of vehicles climbing up the Otira Viaduct

The lookout is awesome in fine or wet weather and in fact it is interesting to visit in both conditions. The view is much curtailed in bad weather as the valley below often fills with cloud. You are sitting just about 1100 meters here so it is hardly surprising that the weather is dim a lot of the time. 

Rainy day view of the Otira Viaduct

SH73 is a very busy route from west to east

The Otira Viaduct has received many accolades and awards and has secured access across this formally difficult section of the highway. 

Higher water level in the Otira River after rain

Snow blankets the scree slope on Hills Peak

View from the lower lookout platform at Deaths Corner

Winter view to Arthurs Pass from Deaths Corner Lookout

 If you are lucky you will be entertained by the antics of Kea who live in the local area. There used to be big mobs of them here but the most I have seen here recently at one time would be about 3-5. That is the name for a group of Kea...a Mob. Very apt as they will happily dismantle your car/boat/motor bike if you leave them unattended for too long. They act like a bunch of teenage boys most of the time...

Kea live in the local area around the Lookout

Silver Surfer at Otira Viaduct Lookout in winter

I recommend you stop and check out the view for yourself the next time you pass this way. It is an interesting viewpoint and worthy of your attention. 

Access: The Otira Viaduct is on SH73 between Arthurs Pass Village and Otira. The Lookout is roughly two kilometers west of Arthurs Pass itself and is clearly signposted from both directions. There is space here for about 6-7 cars.

You Tube: Otira Viaduct Lookout

Otira Viaduct Lookout...AKA Death Corner

An engineering marvel...the Otira Viaduct

There is a marvel of engineering technology located right in the heart of one of our National Parks. It is the Otira Viaduct which passes high over the Otira River Valley on State Highway 73 between Arthurs Pass Village and Otira.

The Otira Viaduct in Arthurs Pass NP

Over 440 meters long (1440 feet) and 45 meters high it crosses an area of unstable land and was one of the largest and most expensive local engineering projects of the early 1990's.

A potted history of the Otira-Arthurs Pass Highway:

The road over Arthurs Pass to Otira has always been problematic...it is a high alpine area with massive rainfall events, steep difficult terrain and frequent and large earthquakes. This has made maintaining the route over the pass very difficult to achieve.

Map: Otira Viaduct...dotted line was the old road...now a tramping track

One particular problem was always the massive gravel slips just over the pass and coming down off Hills Peak/Mt Stuart between Pegleg Point and Candy's Corner. This is an active scree slope which frequently slipped over the road every time there was a major storm or a large earthquake. The transport authorities spent many millions each year keeping this section clear.

A trip over this road section was always a sphincter clenching experience...it was winding, narrow and heinously steep. Many was the older English car that cooked an engine climbing the switchback road. 

Hills Peak and Mt Stuart dominate the area around the Viaduct

SH73 winds over Arthurs Pass into the Otira River Valley

By the mid 1980's the authorities had enough and tendered a project to build a permanent solution to this tricky roadway. The winning tender was for a massive elevated viaduct from near Deaths Corner to a point further down the Valley. This would cut out the whole problematic section of the existing road and make maintenance of this vital transport route easier and more secure. 

Silver Surfer at the Otira Viaduct carpark

The project took over 6 years to complete and cost nearly $2 billion dollars but was ultimately successful. It featured many new techniques not previously used in New Zealand and provided a blueprint for similar projects right around the country. 

View down the Otira River Valley from the lookout

The scree slopes coming off Hills Peak/Mt Stuart, Arthurs Pass NP

The builders had to contend with brutal conditions especially during the harsh winters which stretched the project out past its intended finishing date. The population of both Arthurs Pass and Otira swelled with the workers constructing the viaduct as they were the closest places they could be housed. After many years of hard work they finished the viaduct in 1999 and it opened to general use. 

You can see how rough the Otira river Valley is...

The Otira Viaduct has received many accolades and awards and has secured access across this formally difficult section of the highway. 

A great viewpoint...

Once the viaduct was completed there was no need for the old road so the approaches on the Arthur's Pass side were turned into a magnificent lookout point. There is a sign posted turn off at the old Deaths Corner with views right down the Otira River Valley. From the lookout you have an unobstructed view of the Otira Viaduct. 

Closer view of the Otira Viaduct

There are two fine fenced off lookouts here and both have good views down to the viaduct, Otira River and down the Otira Valley. In fine weather or rain they provide magnificent views of this rugged section of the park. 

A word of caution though...do not cross the fences...there are significant drops from the lookout and a fall from here would not be good for your health. 

Silver Surfer at the Otira Viaduct on a rainy day

Mist cloaks the mountains above the Otira River Valley

The lookout is awesome in fine or wet weather and if you are lucky you will be entertained by the antics of Kea who live in the local area. They will happily dismantle your car/boat/motor bike if you leave them unattended for too long. 

Native Kea at the Otira Viaduct Lookout

It was a marvel of engineering when it was built and it is still one of the most difficult and expensive road projects in New Zealand history. Don't pass it by on your next trip over Arthurs Pass but stop and have a gander.

Access: The Otira Viaduct is on SH73 between Arthurs Pass Village and Otira. The Lookout is roughly two kilometers west of Arthurs Pass itself and is clearly signposted from both directions. There is space here for about 6-7 cars.

You Tube: Otira Viaduct Lookout

Historic Huts: Jacks Hut in Arthurs Pass NP

Historic Jacks Hut...

When Karen and I were in Arthurs Pass we went and visited Jacks Hut on State Highway 73 mid way between Arthurs Pass and Arthurs Pass Village. The hut has occupied its current location since the 1910's but it was originally a Roadman's hut located elsewhere. 

Jacks Hut in Arthurs Pass National Park

Over the years it has served as a Roadman's hut, emergency shelter, research hut, artist retreat, personal crib/bach and is now a historic hut in the conservation estate.

A potted history of Jacks Hut:

  The hut was built in 1879 and was originally located near Rough Creek and was used by the Roadmen who maintained the stage coach route over Arthurs Pass. Roadmen each had a 10 mile stretch of road to maintain from Springfield to Jackson on the Taramakau River. 

Information panel about the roadmen in Jacks Hut

The men spent their time clearing the road, fixing potholes and maintaining the bridges. Their tools were the pick, axe, shovel and wheel barrow and the job was hard, lonely and dangerous. Life would have been tough especially during the brutal winters you can get in this alpine environment. 

Jacks Hut in its original location at Rough Creek

There are similar original roadman huts at Porters Pass, Castle Rock Station and near Cass but all the others have been removed over the years. The roadmen plied their trade right up to the 1930's when the role was taken over by heavy machinery based in Springfield, Arthurs Pass and Otira. 

Porters Pass Roadman's Hut...SH 73 near the Kowhai River

In the early 1900's the hut was briefly used as an emergency shelter before passing into private hands. It was moved to its current location in 1910 and was used as a personal bach/crib/mountain retreat from that time onwards.

There used to be a small shed next to Jacks Hut

The last owners of the bach were the Butler family who owned it from the 1920's right up to the early 2000's. They used the hut as a holiday home and as a permanent residence over that time. 

Information about the past owners of Jacks Hut

 FYI...there is a worthwhile book about Jack's Hut written by the daughter of Grace and Guy Butler. It is simply called Jack's Hut and was written and published in 1968 by Grace Butler Adams. I have a copy in my personal library and it is an excellent read...

Jack's Hut by Grace Butler Adams

When the last of the original Butler family (Grace Butler Adams) passed away in the early 2000's the hut was donated to the people of New Zealand and incorporated into the Department of Conservation estate.

Mt Rolleston from Jacks Hut

Wider view of Mt Rolleston from Jacks Hut

The hut was restored in the 2004 by DOC and the Historic Places Trust and will now be maintained in perpetuity as a historic hut. 

Approaching Jacks Hut...

Jacks Hut sits on the Arthurs Pass Walking Track and this is one of the main ways people will approach the hut. The Walking Track goes right past the hut as it bisects SH73 mid way between the Village and Arthurs Pass. If you are walking uphill it appears through the forest as you wind down to cross the highway. 

View of Jacks Hut from the Arthurs Pass Walking Track

If you are heading downhill towards the village it is clearly visible as you cross SH73 between the Bealey River side of the Walking Track and the section down to the Bealey River footbridge. 

Jacks Hut as seen from the Bealey Chasm side of SH73

You can also park at the Bealey Valley Track carpark and walk across the road to investigate the hut. The carpark is the starting point for the upper section of the Arthurs Pass Walking Track and the side track to the Bealey Valley Track and Bealey Chasm start near here. 

Bealey Valley Track carpark on SH73...Arthurs Pass NP

The hut is set slightly back from the road and is surrounded on three sides by thick Beech forest. To the front is a flat area of grass down to the edge of the road. The hut has been painted many colors over the years but has been in an attractive green/white livery for the last 20 odd years. 

Front of Jacks Hut from SH73 in Arthurs Pass NP

Jacks Hut is permanently locked to prevent vandalism

The hut consists of an enclosed porch/veranda/sunroom at the front with a large central living space, two bunkrooms, a kitchen and mudroom behind. Back when it was used as a personal bach it could hold up to eight people in some what cramped conditions. 

..Jacks Hut is clad in good olde corrugated iron...

Jacks Hut: the kitchen is at the back of the hut

Jacks Hut...the western side of the hut

When the hut was used as a bach it had a toilet to the rear and a water from a nearby stream but both were removed when the hut passed back into DOC control as they were not part of the original design. I remember a small shed to the eastern side of the hut used to house cars, tools and wood etc. and this was also removed when the hut was restored. 

Jacks Hut is part of the conservation estate

The interior of the hut as seen through through the windows is very Spartan...it was a wood lined building with a low vaulted ceiling. There is a centrally located fireplace on the eastern side of the hut which provided heat for the whole building. I remember there being furniture in the hut when it was still owned by the Butler family and it was only removed when it was renovated in the 2010's.

Jacks Hut: interior of the hut....front room

There are now a series of information panels in the veranda at the front of the hut which explains the whole history of the hut. While the hut is locked you can get an idea of how it was used by peering in the windows and you can see what an excellent job DOC did when they restored it. 

Interpretative panel inside Jacks Hut 

I would have first visited the hut in my primary school days as most of the schools in Christchurch used to bring classes up here to experience a National Park. I have visited the hut many times since then and I think I have probably been to the hut over 30 times making it my most visited backcountry hut in New Zealand. 

Jacks Hut...long may it exist!!!

Jacks Hut is an important part of the history of early transportation, settlement and outdoor pursuits in  Arthurs Pass. Here's hoping it will continue to intrigue passers by for many years to come. 

Access: Jacks Hut is located on the east side of SH73, about 5 km towards the West Coast from Arthurs Pass Village. It is on the route of the Arthurs Pass Walking Track which passes right by the front of the hut. 

Hut details: Jack's Hut, Historic, locked and no stay allowed

Miscellaneous: There is a car park on the opposite side of the highway accessible from the hut. The route to the Bealey Valley Track starts on the far side of SH73.