7 - Crossing Haast Pass

The day after Milford Sound, we awoke to glorious sunshine. After a leisurely morning and stroll around the lakefront, we headed north in search of Glaciers. We re-traced our path up to Queenstown (there are only so many roads in this country). The mountains and fields were gorgeous, but we noticed that much of the snow on the Remarkables had melted while we were in Milford Sound. We were fortunate to see them so frosted before. From Queenstown we veered off toward Wanaka. We drove by way of Arrowtown which was an old gold-mining boom town, now a quaint touristy and culinary mecca. From Arrowtown, we chose to take the scenic Crown Range Road, which parallels the main highway, but is much more scenic...man, is it ever. It starts immediately with dramatic, steep switchbacks up the face of the mountain that shelters Arrowtown at its base. Unfortunately, the scenic lookout at the top was closed due to a filming crew, so we ducked into a private driveway (about 1 min before the owner had the same idea). The view of the valley was seemingly endless. We saw all of Arrowtown, the Skipper Road to the west, the Coronet Peak ski area, and Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu in the distance. Stunning! as the Kiwis say.




After summiting, the road meandered its way down through Cardrona



and finally into Wanaka. Wanaka looks and feels a lot like Bend, but with a HUGE lake. It's upscale, prim, proper, and lovely. We didn't even stop as we had our eyes on getting to the West Coast -- Glacier Country. The road from Wanaka to Makarora was slow-going as it follows two lakes (Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka), clinging to the cliff as it winds its way north.



All the fun begins after Makarora when you start to gain elevation. There is one outstandingly beautiful sight after another along this stretch of road, lakes and mountains. We stopped at each lookout and tramp along the way. Notables included the

• Blue Pools
  

• Haast Point Lookout (which is the steepest, longest trail ever made -- but we made it to the top and were rewarded with a view Mt. Cook) The second picture is looking back toward Wanaka.
  

• Fantail Falls

• Gates of Haast (the falls over the gigantic granite boulders were seriously amazing)

• Thunder Creek Falls (which look a lot like Oregon waterfalls).

We almost had the entire place to ourselves, rarely running into another person on any of the tramps. The road from Wanaka to Haast is a hidden gem. We would like to spend more time here.