Southern Exposure

Guardian writer takes one of NZ’s iconic road trips: the State Highway 73 from Christchurch to Greymouth, across the Southern Alps. “The road begins to climb sharply, and in just a few miles, via a series of switchbacks, knife-edge curves and hairpin turns, it rises to several thousand feet above sea-level … West of Bealey, the SH73 begins the climb to Arthur’s Pass. It’s one of the world’s great stretches of road, traversing narrow bridges and deep ravines, diving past rock overhangs and murky caverns, and shooting through patches of mist and sudden sunshine as it climbs higher and deeper into the mountains. A mile overhead, the peaks of the Southern Alps disappear into cloud. At times, a flimsy steel barrier is all that stands between you and a long, slow plummet down the mountainside.”