As pit-stop on our journey to Mt. Cook, we stayed in the Arthur's Pass Alpine Motel for the evening, allowing us the opportunity to try some nearby hikes.
We tried out the Devil's Punchbowl and a bit of the Alpine Treeline Hike.
The Devil's Punchbowl trail was well marked, with assistance including stairs, bridges, and railings to traverse through the forest. The route took about 30mins to arrive at the waterfall, including steep up and downhill terrain. The view of the waterfall was worth the trek, as we were deep in the forest surrounded by unique trees.
On the way back, we noticed a side trail, marked Alpine Treeline Hike, heading upward on the hill, but no marking indications of the length. We decided to give it a try, but about 15mins in found ourselves turning around. The hike was straight uphill. As we got further up the mountain the scaling of the mountain got trickier; we decided to turn around-later researched the trail..turns out it leads to the very very very top of the mountain (a 5hr hike), which required a lot of experience; glad we gave up early.
Overall, a pleasant hike; well-enjoyed as a pit-stop, wouldn't have wanted to stay longer in the area, as it seemed a lot of the trails overlapped views-and the town has very little in terms of gas, restaurants, and general amenities. read more