Rockfall has been causing disruption on the roads around Arthur's Pass between Canterbury and the West Coast. Fire and Emergency said it responded to a crash around 10.15pm on Christmas Day on State Highway 73, near the turnoff to Mount White. A car had run into a fallen rock and was damaged, but there were no injuries. And further west on the Ōtira Gorge stretch of the same highway, a section of the road had a priority give-way system in place because of rockfall. It was still in place early on Boxing Day morning.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 26, 2025 01:07 UTC