Resupplying in Arthur's Pass, Arthur's Pass National Park, South Island
I do a lot of tramping in Arthurs Pass National Park and normally take all my food with me. However if you found yourself in the Park one of the places you could buy food is in Arthur's
Pass Township.
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| Arthurs Pass Store and Cafe, Arthurs Pass Village |
On a recent visit to the area I went into the only two
places that sell grocery items and took some photos to show you what you
can expect to find there.
The Arthurs Pass township
Arthurs Pass
is a small township perched in the depths of the Southern Alps. The
regular population of the township is less than 30 people: mostly
railway workers, cafe workers, Police, DOC staff and roading
contractors.
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| Sign at the Arthurs Pass railway station |
The
town only exists because it is one of the crossing points over the
Southern Alps. Both SH73 and the Trans Alpine rail link between
Christchurch and the West Coast of the South Island pass through the
township. It is also the nexus for Arthurs Pass National Park and all the wonderful short and multi day tramps located there.
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| Map: Arthurs Pass township |
Because
the town is so small it has very little infrastructure: there are a
number of accommodation providers, two cafes, a DOC visitor centre and a
railway station. That's it really....because of this one of the cafes
also acts as the general store for the area.
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| Arthurs Pass township: view west towards the Pass and the West Coast of the South Island |
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| Arthurs Pass township: view east towards the DOC centre and Canterbury |
The Arthur's Pass Cafe Store
The
Arthurs Pass Cafe Store
is located right in the centre of the Arthurs Pass township...it is
easily the most prominent and easy to spot building in the village. The
main part of the building is seating for the cafe section of the store.
The store is also the home of the only petrol bowser in the village.
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| The Arthurs Pass Cafe Store, SH 73, Arthurs Pass Village |
The
Arthur's Pass store carries a small but comprehensive grocery selection
to supply both visitors and the locals who live and work in the area.
It is located at the rear of the store, back beyond the cafe section of
the building and consists of a number of shelves and a couple of coolers
with chilled and frozen goods in them.
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| Arthurs Pass Store:grocery section at the rear of the cafe |
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| Arthurs Pass Store: inside the store and cafe: note the menu board |
There
is a very limited selection of frozen meats which would be suitable for
tramping supplies. For example they had single steaks and packets of
four sausages in a variety of flavours as well as bacon, cold meats and a
selection of dairy products.
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| Arthurs Pass Store: small bags of frozen meat products, gluten free bread |
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| Arthurs Pass Store: milk, cheese, butter, cream, bacon and cold meats |
I've
taken some close up shots of the grocery shelves so you can see exactly
what they have in the shop. I was mentally building a multi day menu in
my mind as I took these shots...you could easily buy enough food to see
you through for 3-10 days
from the goods they have on offer.
Wither you could carry 10 days food is another matter...
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| Arthurs Pass Store: groceries shelf I |
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| Arthurs Pass Store:grocery shelf II |
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| Arthurs Pass Store: groceries shelf III |
The
General Store is primarily a cafe and tearooms so they have both menu
and cabinet items for sale. There is a wide selection of sandwiches,
pies, cookies and cakes as well as fruit and various beverages. You can
see the menu on the blackboard in the photo below, the range is limited
but they sell cooked breakfasts as well as a number of burgers, hot
chips and toasted sandwiches.
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| Arthurs Pass Cafe Store: the food cabinets |
There
is also a selection of snack items arranged around the main counter so
make sure you have a look at what they have available including jerky,
chocolate, meal bars and candies.
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| Arthurs Pass Cafe Store: jerky products |
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| Arthurs Pass Cafe Store: sweets and chocolate supplies |
The
store has a limited supply of clothing items including socks, merino
tops, t-shirts and fleece and merino hats, scarves and gloves. They also
sell lightweight rain jackets and baseball caps.
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| Arthurs Pass Cafe Store: limited supplies of clothing |
There
is a small off license at the Arthurs Pass store, they sell a limited
selection of beers, ciders wine and large spirits bottles. The prices
were comparable to what you would pay in Christchurch so $50-$60 for a
large bottle of spirits and $12-$25 for a bottle of wine.
As
always you must be 18 years of age or older to buy these products and I
would imagine they WILL ask for ID to prove this. Apart from the bars
at the Wobbly Kea and the Bealey Hotel (10 kms away) this is the only
place to buy alcohol in the township.
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| Arthurs Pass Cafe Store: Spirits and wine selection in their off license |
Arthurs Pass DOC Visitor Centre
The
other place which sells a very limited array of resupply items is the
Department of Conservation visitor centre in Arthur's Pass. They mainly
have a selection of Backcountry Freeze dried meals but also have jerky
products, gas cannisters and Em's Snack Bars.
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| DOC Arthurs Pass Visitor Centre, Arthurs Pass Township, South Island, New Zealand |
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| Arthurs Pass DOC Centre: inside the centre |
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| The shop inside the DOC Visitor Centre in Arthurs Pass |
The store has some clothing items including socks, merino
tops, t-shirts and fleece and merino hats, scarves and gloves. They
also sell lightweight rain jackets and baseball caps.
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| Arthurs Pass DOC Centre:the small selection of resupply items |
As
you are going to visit the centre to check the weather for the next leg
of the trail you might as well stop and stock up on a few items. Note
that the DOC Visitor centre is the only place selling gas cannisters in
the township, otherwise you are going to Hokitika or Christchurch as
they are the next closest towns that sell these items.
Eating at the Wobbly Kea
The only other place to eat in Arthurs Pass is at the
Wobbly Kea Cafe and Bar. It is located directly across the road from the Cafe Store in the centre of Arthur's Pass Township.
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| The wobbly kea cafe and bar, Arthurs Pass Village, Arthurs Pass National Park |
The
cafe is also a bar so if you are looking for a drink this is where you
will need to go, hours are 9 am to 5pm over the winter, 8-8pm during the
summer season. The Wobbly Kea serves cooked breakfasts, and lunch/dinner
items in the style of bar food so pizza's, burgers, fries, dressed pies
and toasted sandwiches. They also have a small cabinet selection including cakes and biscuits.
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| Wobbly Kea Cafe and Bar: the inside of the cafe |
Online treasure trove about Arthurs Pass
There is a very comprehensive page covering information for trampers on the
Arthurs Pass.com website. You should have a look as it is filled with fantastic information about the tramping in the park as well as more general information about Arthurs Pass.
I hope to see you out there some time...
