It has taken years for Arthur's Pass resident Hamish Reid to be able to kayak along State Highway 73.

"It is something I have wanted to do for a long time. I have seen it flooded a few times and always thought it would be fun to kayak along the highway," he said.

Reid has lived in the village for 10 years and said he has seen the highway flooded before but he had never had the opportunity to kayak across it.

When Lake Misery flooded in yesterday's heavy rainfall Reid grabbed his kayak and headed to the highway before the water disappeared again.

"There was a big highway sign telling you to check your brakes and that was pretty funny," he said.

Lake Misery is on the western side of Arthur's Pass and Reid said it was ususally 50 metres wide but when it flooded it could reach 250m wide.

Paddy Moran joined Reid to kayak along the highway and said the novel paddle was "quite an achievement".

"I have never kayaked on a road before so when the opportunity arose I was keen as mustard," he said. Moran does conservation work in Arthur's Pass and has lived in the village for seven years.

The pair had to follow American road rules and paddle in the deeper water on the wrong side of the road.

Moran said the highway was closed from Kelly's Creek Bridge because the water was about three to four feet deep along the road. State Highway 73 is now open.

- © Fairfax NZ News