Passing through Haast Pass

Friday 31 January

What an epic journey!

We’d had been somewhat dreading coming over the Haast Pass after struggling with Arthur’s Pass a week or so ago. Everyone had an opinion but generally it was agreed this would be easier. We set off early and allowed plenty of time to rest and cool the engine.

From Fox our first stop was Bruce Bay - we arrived just as the coffee van was setting up which made Louis happy! It was indicative of our weather for the day that as we looked North to where we had come from, the coastline was shrouded in misty clouds, but looking South where we were heading, there were blue skies and clear views.

A wee detour to the lacklustre salmon farm then on to Knights Point, past a huge rockslide (repairs to which were set to close this route for several days over the next week - good timing on our part!) and on to Haast.

A quick chat with the DoC ranger at the iSite was helpful and reassuring so we popped into the heart of Haast feeling a little braver, and grabbed some lunch (breakfast panini for Louis and a genuine French crepe from a genuine French woman for me) after deciding that the Hard Antler Bar was not for us... although I had a lovely smooch with Bubbles, the resident pusskin!

Soon we were on our way up the Haast river towards the infamous pass.

The river was stunning as we drove alongside it and there were a couple of waterfalls to visit, as well as a few viewpoints, before we entered the “Gates of Haast” and started the big climb section.

The first proper stop we came to was Roaring Billy Falls - we scored a good double park at the end of the DoC carpark and walked through the woods, coming out at the vast, wide Haast river bed. We crossed over 100m or more of stony dry river bed before reaching the banks of the flowing glacial waters - and just across the other side was Roaring Billy. cascading almost 100 feet down the mountain and into the Haast river. As so often on the West Coast, the stones were mostly flat, round grey pebbles which stack beautifully - and a fallen tree on the dry part of the river bed was the base for many a stunning stone tower.

Moving on up the valley, we were fortunate to find a long space at the pull over for Thunder Creek so took a quick 5 minute stroll through the bush to reach this 28m cascade which was one single drop into the icy waters of the Haast.

We entered the Gates of Haast - a single lane bridge with a lefthand bend and a steep drag pulling out of it - but fortunately both this and the rest of the Pass were neither as long nor as steep as the Porter’s Pass climb on Arthur’s Pass and soon it was behind us as we pressed on to Cameron Flats DoC campsite to claim the best pitch for the night!

The campsite is about 1.8km from the Blue Pools so we wandered over and even I braved the icy cold waters - which were definitely bracing!

Back at Banjo we settled in for dinner & watching the sunset wash the valley with ever changing hues. At 9.30pm the snow on the mountain at the end of the valley still gleamed white against a darkening night sky. Stunning!