The ‘Southerly’ weather front that had passed over the island earlier in the week had brought with it much cooler air, making for a chilly morning at my campsite part-way up Haast Pass. Despite the sun not yet having made it above the surrounding mountain peaks, I decided to get on the road and start my trip over to the West Coast.
Although Haast Pass / Tioripatea is actually the lowest of the three passes that cross the Southern Alps, being tucked away in the southwest corner of the South Island means that it is still quite an impressive drive. The route was used by Maori long before it was named after the Canterbury-based geologist Julius von Haast, although it was only fully surfaced as a road in 1995.
I stopped at the top of the pass for a quick walk through the forest to the lookout. Despite only being less than a hundred kilometers from the dry hills of Central Otago, this close to the West Coast the lush forests had returned and as I made my way up the track it seemed as if every surface was covered in a different shade of green.
On reaching the West Coast, I turned South and headed out towards the small settlement of Jackson Bay. Driving to the end of the paved highway on the West Coast, passing the remains of recent mud slides and road washouts, this felt like such an isolated place.
Despite the remote location, Jackson Bay remains a working fishing port and serves as a landing place for much of the catch of Fiordland crayfish (lobsters). My early start meant that I missed out on a crayfish lunch from the bright orange shack on the edge of the bay, but from the lines of people waiting for lunch, I think it is somewhere we will have to add to our list of places to visit.
After taking the track out to the rockpools just out of town in the hopes of seeing some seals, I decided to hop back in my campervan and start my journey back up the West Coast. However despite rejoining the highway, I think it is safe to say that the roads (and bridges like the one above) were a reminder that I was still very much in rural New Zealand!