Haast Coast and Pass through the Southern Alps

We are on a road trip for 6 weeks around New Zealand’s South Island in our motorhome, and just had an amazing drive down the Island’s famous west coast. Then we reached the wild and windy town of Haast, at the entrance to the scenic Haast Pass, the road we will take to cross the Southern Alps.

The wild and sandy beach in the village of Haast, NZ

We stopped in Haast village to check out its beach and buy some diesel. Being on to the west coast, there was a lot of wind, sand, and driftwood, lending it a slightly dishevelled look.

After a short stop, we drove onto State Highway 6 that is the famous Haast Pass. It is named after Julius von Haast, a 19th-century explorer who served as a geologist for the local government of Canterbury NZ. 

View of the Southern Alps while driving the Haast Pass, NZ

The Pass lies within Mount Aspiring National Park, and rises to around 562 metres (1,844 ft) above sea level, making it the lowest of the passes that cross New Zealand’s Southern Alps. The road is good and the scenery lovely, with good views of the Alps as we closed in on them.

It was once a traditional pathway for Māori journeying across the area in search of pounamu (also known as greenstone and jade). 

Haast River seen from Haast Pass, NZ

The route picks up the Haast River quite early on the trip. The river is 100 km (62 m) long, and enters the Tasman Sea near the Haast township that we had just left. It is a broad, pebbly river that presents a lovely view. 

The road runs alongside it for a large part of the journey, taking us through a corner of Te Wahipounamu, a vast area of New Zealand that includes four national parks covering 26,000 square km (10,000 sq mi), and that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Thunder Creek Falls, Haast Pass, NZ

There is much to see along the Pass’s 139 km (86 m) route. Given our intentions to drive beyond the Haast Pass today, we selected only a few stops. Our first was at Thunder Creek Falls. We parked and took a short walk through a kāmahi and silver beech forest to a viewing platform to see them. 

They dropped a short but noisy 28 metres straight down into the Haast River, and although not showing a huge flow of water, they were quite pretty. Moving on, we opted not to visit the Roaring Billy Falls, but we did stop at Fantail Falls.

Fantail Falls, Haast Pass, NZ

Fantail Falls drop around 23 m into the Fantail Creek. It is a wide waterfall, causing the water to fan out over the rocks below. We then skipped a couple of other waterfalls, stopped at some lookouts, and moved on. 

As we drove, we came across one-lane bridges, tricky bends, and a narrowing of the road, making it difficult to pass other vehicles, so it was a slow and steady drive. But it was full of spectacular rainforests, lakes, waterfalls, and glacier-fed rivers, and we were really enjoying it. 

The Blue Pools, Mt Aspiring National Park (UNESCO), NZ

One of the glacier-fed rivers is Makarora River that runs down from the mountains in Mt Aspiring National Park. It is best known for its deep basin known as the Blue Pools. We walked 1.5 km on an easy track through a beautiful silver beech/tahina forest to a swing-bridge overlooking the pools. 

The water really was crystal clear and drew you to its tranquil shores. There was a man swimming there when we arrived, so we were inspired to test the water temperature. Crickey, it was so very, very cold.

Mt Aspiring and the National Park (UNESCO) from Haast Pass, NZ

Leaving the Blue Pools, the Makarora River flows south, taking its crystal-clear glacial waters into Lake Wānaka. Back on the Haast Pass, we also headed south, following the course of the river. The road runs parallel to it and presents great views for most of the way. 

We felt that the whole Haast Pass route, although relatively short, had been so scenic, with abundant views of rivers, lush native forests, and mystical mountains.

Coming out of the Haast Pass on the Makarora - Lake Hawea Road, NZ

The Haast Pass carries on to Wānaka in the heart of the South Island’s lakes district. We plan to stop there to see two of NZs great lakes, but you can read about that in the next blog.

This is part of a bigger blog on our travels around the South Island of New Zealand. The first blog is called NZ's South Island in a motorhome.