Karen and I have just come back from a camper van holiday around the lower South Island. We went along the West Coast and then over Haast Pass to Wanaka-Aoraki/Mt Cook -Lake Tekapo. We had meant to do a bit of walking on this trip but the weather stepped in and put paid to our plans. It absolutely hosed with rain for the first two and a half days so our walking options were limited.
As we went over Haast Pass on our way to Wanaka we managed to visit a few of the shorter tracks along the Haast-Makarora Highway. In particular we stopped at Thunder Creek Falls, the Gates of Haast Bridge, Fantail Falls, Cameron Creek Track and a short bush walk in Makarora. Most of this area is a part of Mt Aspiring National Park.
I will cover all but the Cameron Creek Track in this post.
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| Cameron Flats, Haast-Makarora Highway |
The weather got better the further east we travelled...very heavy rain on the western side of Haast Pass and infrequent drizzle by the time we reached Makarora around two hours later. This is the usual pattern in the bottom of the South Island...the Southern Alps form a rain barrier which stops the heavy, wet and warm air off the Tasman Sea reaching the eastern side of the mountains.
The eastern side gets less than a quarter of the rainfall of the western side.
Thunder Falls Track:
I purchased a brochure at the Haast DOC Centre detailing the various viewpoints and tracks along the Haast to Makarora Highway. We used it to chose a few places to visit along the way...it is well worth finding a copy if you are planning a trip over Haast Pass.
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| There are lots of tracks along the Haast-Makarora Highway |
Because it was raining so hard we had to forgo the longer tracks..20 minutes outside would have left us wet to the bone and dangerously cold. This precluded the Roaring Billy Falls, Haast Pass Lookout and Blue Pool Tracks. So we walked on the ones that were 5-20 minutes return.
Our first point of call was the Thunder Creek Falls just west of the Gates of Haast Bridge.
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| Start of the Thunder Creek Walk, Haast Pass |
Thunder Creek Falls are 96 meters high and can be accessed along a short 5 minute walk through thick dense Podocarp Forest. The main tree types were Kamahi and Silver Beech with a thick understory of ferns, shrubs and grasses.
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| Information about Thunder Creek Falls in the brochure |
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| DOC information about the local fauna and fauna at Thunder Creek |
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| The track is sealed right down to the viewing platform, Thunder Creek Walk |
The track is sealed so it wasn't muddy but it was pissing with rain so we had to wear jackets and take an umbrella.
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| It is hard to see but it was raining heavily... |
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| Karen at the Thunder Creek Falls viewing platform |
The Thunder Creek Falls are spectacular in the rain...the water was thundering down into the pool at the base of the falls. Misty spray was rolling across the river right up to the viewing platform.
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| Thunder Creek Falls (96 meters), Haast Pass |
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| The Haast River was flooded...Thunder Creek Falls |
In normal flow you can walk down to the Haast River and step out onto the rocks in the river. The river was starting to flood when we arrived so while you could get down to the side of the river only a fool would go past the bottom of the steps.
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| You can walk down to the Haast River, Thunder Creek Falls |
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| The sound of Thunder Creek Falls was deafening... |
That river would kill you in seconds if you fell in..it was surging and pounding around and over the rocks with a lot of speed and force. I walked down to the side of the river and stood on what remained of the river bank to take some photos.
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| There is access to the Haast River from the Thunder Creek Falls viewpoint |
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| Thunder Creek Falls from river level... |
After a couple of minutes we headed back to the van in the rain. On the way back you pass through a large clearing in the forest canopy caused by wind fall. The valley is narrow along here so I would imagine the wind funnels through with a lot of force behind it at times.
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| A forest clearing on the Thunder Creek walk |
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| Kamahi Trees near the start of the Thunder Creek Walk |
Stop here if you are passing over Haast Pass as the falls run all year long...I would imagine they are especially good after a bit of rain.
At the Gates of Haast Bridge...
We stopped at the Gates of Haast which is a gorge area where a bridge crosses over the Haast River. It is not very easy to stop here as the usual parking spot was occupied by some heavy machinery and workmen who were working on the river embankments. I shot out of the van and snapped a couple of shots as we waited for a set of stop lights to change.
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| Road sign at the Gates of Haast bridge, Hast Pass |
The Haast River was raging after all the overnight rain...it squeeze's down from over a hundred meters wide to less than twenty here so the water was surging over the rocks. I wouldn't want to fall in when it is like this..you would be dead in seconds.
I see on the topo map that the Wills Valley Track starts from here with Wills Hut a 4 bunk NZFS style hut about 8 km's up the valley. There is a big gorge for the first couple of kilometers so it would probably be a moderately hard place to reach. Access to the track is closed at the moment as they are working on the bridge approaches.
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| Heavy rain meant a full Haast River, Gates of Haast Bridge |
It is a dramatic place to visit especially with the weather we experienced and is worth stopping to have a look around.
Fantails Falls Track:
Fantail Falls is about 6-7 kilometers east of the Gates of Haast and there is a short 10 minute return walk to a viewing spot where you can see the falls. They were also full of water and thundering away...rainy weather is always the best time to view waterfalls.
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| The Jucy van parked at the Fantail Falls carpark, Haast Pass |
This car park is also the starting point for the three hour tramp to Brewster Hut over the Haast River and up into the catchment area for the Brewster Glacier. I would be keen to go up there some time but the track must be steep as it takes 3 hours to cover about 2.5 kilometers.
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| Detail of the Fantail Falls Walk |
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| It is about 400 meters from the Fantail Falls carpark to the viewing point |
The first part of the track to the Fantail Falls viewpoint is gravel but then it changes to a sealed path about a hundred meters away from the carpark. The forest is more of the Silver Beech and Kamahi and as it is close to the road so you will hear all the vehicles driving past.
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| The Fantail Falls Track skirts the car park |
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| Fantail Falls Track: it is a concrete path for some of the distance |
There is another information kiosk at the view point (there are kiosks at all of the stops over Haast Pass) which shows the tracks and viewpoints in the immediate area. It has a nice overhang so you can actually get out of the rain for awhile.
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| DOC map showing tracks along the Haast Highway |
The falls are shaped like a Piwakawaka's tail feathers so they are aptly named. They fall 28 meters from a lip coming out of Fantail Creek over some rocks and down into the main Haast River. Normally you can walk right out onto the shingle flats to get closer to the falls but there was a overflow stream running so it was impossible to access the area without wading through ankle deep water.
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| Fantail Falls from the viewing platform |
Fantail Falls, Haast-Makarora Highway, Mt Aspiring NP
After a couple of minutes we headed back down the track to have a look at the track to Brewster Hut.
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| On the way back to the Fantail Falls carpark |
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| Back at the track junction to Brewster Hut |
The side track to Brewster Hut takes you about twenty meters to a crossing point over the Haast River. In normal flow it is reasonably easy to wade across to the track which climbs up along Fantail Creek to the hut at 1400 meters. You start at 400 meters asl so that would be a lot of climbing...I think the posted three hours to the hut might be a bit optimistic!!!
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| The Brewster Hut Track, Haast Pass |
There was just no way anyone was crossing that river on the day we visited...it was deep, swift and dirty looking and I could hear the classic rolling of boulders in the river. Not good conditions to try a river crossing...
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| Going to Brewster Hut means crossing the Haast River... |
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| Looking upstream from the Brewster Hut crossing |
We walked down to another ford point close to the carpark and it looked even worse with big bow waves and a horrible looking run out.
Jon says bugger that for a laugh...
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| The Haast River was flowing fast downriver from Fantail Falls |
The Fantails Falls are not as high as some others along the highway but they were very pretty looking so deserve a visit.
Makarora Bush Walk: 1 km (15 minutes)
We stopped in Makarora to use the conweniences so I took the opportunity to scoot around the short Makarora Bush Walk. It starts right next to the DOC visitor office at Makarora and is a circular loop track through a patch of Podocarp forest.
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| Explanation of Makarora Bush Walk from the brochure... |
There is a nice information kiosk at the start of this walk with information about the history of the area and the type of forest you will encounter here.
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| Start of the Makarora Bush Walk, Mt Aspiring NP |
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| DOC information kiosk at the Makarora Bush Walk |
By the time we got to Makarora the rain had stopped and the track was relatively dry...Makarora is west of the Main Divide so it has a much drier climate than even 20 kilometers back along the highway.
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| The walk is less developed than others along the Haast Highway |
The track surface on the Makarora Bush Walk is a lot rougher than some of the other tracks along the Haast-Makarora Highway but it was perfectly fine to walk on. It is dirt, gravel and some short boardwalk sections over the wetter areas.
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| Hinau and Rata Trees at the Makarora Bush Walk |
There is an old saw pit with an explanatory panel about half way around the loop...Makarora was once a centre for forestry so much of the surrounding forest is regrowth from after the sawmilling had finished. Eventually the trees in this remnant patch of bush will grow to be giants.
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| The old pitsaw site, Makarora bush walk |
There is a side track to the summit of Mt Shrimpton along the track...it is six kilometers and five hours return to walk to the summit and back. If you look at a topo map you are climbing from around 300 meters asl to over 1400 asl to get above the bush line...a bit of a climb. According to the brochure there are good views of the Southern Alps from the top of the track above the bush-line.
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| Side track to Mt Shrimpton along the Makarora Bush Walk |
There are a variety of tree types in the forest..Kamahi, Miro, Hinau, Rata and Silver Beech...typical podocarp species in Mt Aspiring National Park. I also saw a few birds...Bellbirds, Tui, Fantails and Keruru.
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| Coming to the end of the Makarora Bush Walk |
The end of the track is a short walk back along a road to the rear of the DOC office and around to the car park and toilets located at the start of the track. It was a nice wee jaunt through the forest...
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| Walking back to the start of the Makarora Bush Walk |
I will have to come back down here some time to walk the tracks that I missed due to the inclement weather. You could stay in Makarora (motel and campsite there...) or at one of the campsites at Cameron Flat or Pleasant Flat and do day trips up and down the highway.
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