A Grey Day in Haast Pass
Monday 21 September
A glorious start to the day in Cameron Flat… but not for long! Blue light over the valley just before dawn; then the sun blasting through between the mountains an hour or so later.
We got out on the road earlyish to explore along the Haast Pass highway before the rain set in.
First stop after a misty drive was Wilson’s Creek chasm - without the sun it was rather dark & dank but still eerily beautiful. We watched the clear but freezing cold water tumble out of the chasm and join the Haast River - Louis checked the temperature with his fingers and declared it to be effing cold! I was thankful for my warm, woolly Pachamama sweater!
Heading on westward we paused at Thunder Creek Falls but you can no longer get down to the river bed as the lower viewing platform & stairs have been damaged by high waters. There are so many falls like this through the Haast Pass, but only 3 of them have stopping places and pathways to allow for viewings. Further up the river we looked down and saw what looks like an old railway line from gold or coal mining operations - fascinating. All along the pathway there were deep dark hollows concealing ethereal spiders webs catching the sun and the dampness.
Five minutes further along the road we pulled into Pleasant Flat campsite, wondering if we might stop here on our way through the pass. Pleasant Flat had a quick woodland walk to a stream with swimming holes (maybe not today!) and some epic moss & lichens on the trees. It was very, well, pleasant! But sooo many sandflies, although their presence also brought a lot of birdlife - swallows, piwakawaka, korimako & miromiro mainly.
We pressed on far further than planned as there was no coverage so we had no idea how far it was to Roaring Billy Falls (almost 20km!) and stopped there to walk out onto the river bed and gaze at the falls which were indeed roaring after some decent rainfall. There's a bit of a rainforest walk down to the river - we passed this old tree was clad in so many mosses, lichens, ferns and mistletoe, and a river stone cairn on an old tree stump - very well balanced, and looking rather like a seal!
Even under a grey sky, the Haast River here was glowing a glorious glacial flour aquamarine and we watched a couple of Haast River Safari boats whizz in and out. Roaring Billy is a vast fall, dropping in several cascades and flows from way up high, before tumbling over rocks into the river.
Back to Banjo for lunch (salad for me and a toasted sandwich for Louis) as the rain arrived in full force, so we settled in for siestas and work on photos, videos and our blog.
Late afternoon the rain subsided to more of a drizzle so we walked (route marched!) down to the Blue Pools again to stretch our legs - even quieter than the day before, just five other walkers! We stopped at the first bridge to watch the brown trout holding their space in the flowing waters below - wish we had a licence and a rod!
Back at Banjo we roasted a flat chook and tray of root veggies for dinner while I joined a zoom session for celebrants. Yummy dinner then an early bed as the rain battered down on our roof.
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