Tag: Haast

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Wanaka

Haast Pass Highway

Leaving Haast, we headed into the territory of Mount Aspiring National Park. An 134km drive to Wanaka and plenty to see along the way.

Roaring Billy Falls/Fantail Falls

A couple of short stops along the Haast Pass. Neither were more than a few-minute hike to the water fall. The water was so clear, pristine, and freezing cold. Perfect places for taking a short break from the long drive. Saw a lot of rock stacking at the Fantail Falls. Couldn’t help to add a couple of my own. Not the simple stacking, but rather some high balancing acts.

Blue Pools

The main attraction on the Haast Pass. When we got there, the roadside parking space was already full and more cars were parked along the road. A short 30-minute hike took us down to the gorge. The color of the water was a beautiful turquoise, felt like we could just hold it in our hands. The color was a result of light refraction on the clear and icy cold water runoff from the glacier. My toes were completed numbed after wading in it for a couple of minutes. A few brave souls did jump in for a swim. The only annoyance is the sand flies. They were all over the beach and they bit. Make sure to have plenty of bug repellent.

Lake Wanaka

Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea located just north of Wanaka. The two lakes were narrowly divided by The Neck by a mile. Before reaching The Neck, we stopped at the Minaret Bay on Lake Wanaka to take in the view. By the way the trees were shaped, there appeared to be constant strong winds in the area.

Wanaka

Situated on the southern tip of Lake Wanaka, Wanaka is a major stop along the Haast Pass before reaching Queenstown. We stopped here for the night as we would not be lodging at Queenstown.

There were many good hiking trails around, Mount Iron right before we entered the town, and Roy’s Peak only 5 minutes west of the town. Both looked a bit bare, with no shades. We decided to drove further west to the Diamond Lake Conservation Area. We hiked for only about half an hour with not much to see aside from the lake. On our way down, we saw a few paragliders appeared in the sky. By the time we got to the parking lot, two of them were folding their gears in the open field. We ended up picking up two of them on our way back to Wanaka. They could barely fit in the backseat with their gear on their lap. They were nice enough to show us a little bit of Glendhu Bay on the way. Both of them came from Czech almost 10 years ago, felt in love with New Zealand and decided to stay. They paraglide whenever they can. Afterwards, they just hitchhike back to Queenstown, where they call home now.

We stayed at an Airbnb for the night. Ready to take on more Mount Aspiring tomorrow.

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Trivia: Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) made reference to Lake Wanaka in the movie Mission Impossible: III as the place he spent the weekend with his fiancee.

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The Southern West Coast

Destinations

Today we drove from Hokitika to Haast by way of Hokitika Gorge, a total distance of about 340km.

Hokitia

Hokitika is a major stop along the coastal highway. Lots of restaurants and shops. We went to the Hokitika’s Regent Theatre for some coffee and breakfast to go. The theater is a fully refurbished 1935 art deco movie theatre. If you ever come this way, make sure to stop by the theater. If not for the classic deco, the pie at the cafe are to die for. We had a beef mushroom quiche for the road, and totally regretted that we did not pack a few more.

Hokitika Gorge and Lake Kaniere

The Hokitika Gorge is about 30 minute drive east of the town. We saw a picture of the amazing deep blue gem like water and just had to see it ourselves. Once we got there, it’s an easy short hike down to the gorge. Astonishingly, the water was not at all like the picture. The entire river was a milky torquay grey, like a stream flowing torquay colored clay. Turns out it was a flowing stream of clay, or rock flour. The area had seen some heavy rainfalls in the past few days, and the rain washed the fine powdery rock flour from the glacier into the river. Not exactly what we came to see, but still amazing.

Lake Kaniere and the Dorthy falls are not too far from the gorge. The tranquil mirror lake and the rushing water from fall were nice to see. However, relatively, this is not a must see stop of the West Coast.

Franz Josef

There are two alpine glaciers, located within Westland Tai Poutini National Park, that are accessible by short hikes, Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier. Coming from the north, we stopped at the i-SITE at Franz Josef to get some information first. The trailhead is about a 10-minute drive from there. The trail is rated as easy. Franz Josef Glacial Walk is a geologist’s fantasy land. All the glacial terminology came back to me as we walked up the glacial valley. It was amazing to see the power of the nature, caving out the massive glacial valley and forming all those geological features. It was also shocking to the impact of human activities on such a great landscape.

Bruce Bay and Paringa

Southbound from Franz Josef, we stopped at a beach near Bruce Bay to catch a glimpse of the sunset. As the highway curved inland we saw fog rolled over the hill and quickly covered the small valley. When we stopped to marvel the magical scene, two horses just walked out of the fog towards us. It’s like we just walk right into the magical land of middle-earth.

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