In the South Island, between Waimakariri and the West Coast, there's a rather famous road that crosses the Southern Alps. You might have heard of it. It's called Arthur's Pass.

Used by Māori for centuries to bring pounamu across the mountains, this crossing was made into a 'road' in 1866 as the gold rush reached full swing. Nowadays the gold is all gone (or so they say), but that hasn't stopped people flocking here for a look. It's a go to for travellers looking for exploration and relaxation amidst the magnificent sights of the Southern Alps.

We figure it's kind of a Kiwi thing to have seen the world twice over but have hardly explored your own back yard. So, if you feel like taking a look sometime, here's our take on how to best explore Arthur's Pass.

Let's start where most people do - in Christchurch. Once you leave the city you'll be heading into real small-town (or no town) New Zealand, so pack some car snacks, charge your camera and throw in the Swanndri - we're heading high and it's going to get chilly up there.

Take the Old West Coast Road North West out of the city. You'll be barely out of the 'burbs when you'll hit an epic stretch of road that runs alongside the mighty Waimakariri River. It's beautiful from every angle, and changes so much throughout the year.

If you don't stop there for the scenery, Castle Hill is a must. One of many highly instagrammable (if that's your kind of thing) spots on the trip, this is where epic limestone rock formations rise up out of the earth like, well, a castle. It's also a great spot for bouldering and rock climbing.

On the way West, we'd highly recommend staying a night, or at the very least stopping in at Flock Hill Lodge. We'll be sharing more on this special place in another post, but for now, let's just say it's the perfect base from which to explore the surrounding region, including Arthur's Pass itself - and the hospitality is one-of-a-kind.

As the mountains rise around you, the railway line will start to snake alongside, and the Waimakariri River will once again come close enough to touch. Here, take a quick detour onto Mount White Road on your right - the view from the bridge is breath taking, both South East toward Sugarloaf and West, deeper into the mountains.

Back on the highway, you'll soon reach the aptly named town at the gateway to the pass, Arthur's Pass Village. At 740 metres above sea level, it's a small town, but it has everything you need to stay and explore the epic surroundings.

You could easily spend a week here hiking, skiing, mountain climbing and biking. The Arthur's Pass Walking Track is a great place to start - seven-ish kilometres of epic scenery, lush nature and loads of waterfalls. Just keep an eye on your scroggin with the Kea around.

Just past Arthur's Pass Village, you'll reach the gateway to the West Coast. A quick stop at Otira Viaduct lookout (also known as Death's Corner - read into that what you will), is essential, if not for the natural landscape then the 440 metre-long feat of engineering that makes this road trip possible.

From here, you could turn around and head home, doing all the above in reverse because seeing it once is not enough...

Or, you could make the most of it and carry on West, out the other side, travelling the wild West Coast Road north past the world famous famous pancake rocks at Punakaiki and up to Westport, where you'll turn back East and back across the Southern Alps.

This way, you'll pass through Reefton (be sure to drop in on our mates at the Reefton Distillery), before emerging at Hanmer Springs just in time for a hot spa and then back down to Christchurch where your road trip kicked off.

Now, we'd not expect any of you Swanndri wearers to be the kind of people to blindly follow someone else's plan without a few touch ups of your own. But hopefully that gives you a couple of ideas for where to start - and a bit of motivation to get started. After all, there's no time like the present. So pack your Swanndri, and we'll see you out there.