The first thing to know about Arthur’s Pass is that there is only one gas station the entire way through the country so fill up before you leave. The gas station is in the town of Arthur’s Pass and we missed it along the way and very nearly ran out of gas before we made it to the small town of Hokitika.

Arthur’s Pass is a very scenic drive cutting though mountains and the Tressilic Loop. The highlight is an amazing bridge that you have to slowly make your way down as the incline angle is ridiculous. We also stopped at small little town, Jackson, and spoke to some locals and enjoyed some ice cream. After that, we drove on fumes to Hokitika and walked along the beach and had lunch at a great family owned Fish and Chips/Bakery. We still had a lot of driving to do to make it all the way down to Franz Josef where we spent the night.

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