Devil’s Punchbowl Falls – Near Arthur’s Pass – New Zealand South Island 2/2/25

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Devil’s Punchbowl Track to the Falls – Near Arthur’s Pass

Sunny and cool

Ian, Court, and Doc

1.5 miles

On the drive across the South Island from Christchurch to Franz Josef, we did a quick hike up to the falls near Arthur’s Pass, a trail town for the Te Araroa trail, which traverses the length of both islands. We saw a lot of backpackers and also a local Kea that hung around the cafe trying to get people to feed it. They are known as the Clowns of the Mountains in New Zealand and are very smart and very mischievous.

The trail wasn’t long and the falls were beautiful. There were a lot of stairs though.

After a nice walk to the falls, we headed on to the west coast of the South Island to Hokitika for a lunch break and then down to Franz Josef where we would have our biggest hike of the trip.