What is the Haast Pass road like?
The Haast Pass rises 562 metres (1,844 feet) above sea level so during winter this road is prone to snowfall and is best navigated outside of the winter months unless you’re used to these conditions – especially if you’re driving a big motorhome.
Where do you stop on Haast Pass?
Before driving the Haast Pass, it’s best to stop at the Mount Aspiring National Park Visitor Center in Wanaka to check on road and trail conditions of Haast Pass. You never want to be caught by surprise in New Zealand.
How long is the Haast Pass?
86.37 miles
How long is the Haast Pass? The pass road is 139 km (86.37 miles) long, running south-north from Wanaka, a resort town on the southern end of its namesake lake to Haast, a small town. No settlements exist on the Haast Pass road between both cities.
What is there to see between Wanaka and Haast?
Makarora, at the northern tip of Lake Wanaka, is a launching point for several multi-day walks in Mount Aspiring National Park. A number of shorter walks begin at the highway’s edge between Makarora to Haast. Favourites include walks to the Blue Pools, Fantail Falls, Thunder Creek Falls and Roaring Billy.
When did Haast Pass open?
November 6, 1965
The pass was completed in 1965 when the last stretch linking the rest of Westland and Otago was finished. It was officially opened by Prime Minister Sir Keith Holyoake on November 6, 1965.
What is there to do from Haast to Franz Josef?
Driving Franz Josef to Wanaka (Haast Pass), New Zealand
- Franz Josef.
- Fox Glacier.
- Salmon Farm and Café
- Knights Point Lookout.
- Roaring Billy Falls.
- Thunder Creek Falls.
- Fantail Falls.
- Cameron’s Flat Campsite.
Where does Queenstown and Franz Josef stop?
What are the best places to stop between Queenstown and Franz Josef?
- Crown Range.
- Cardrona Hotel.
- Bradrona.
- Wanaka.
- Lake Hawea.
- Lake Wanaka Lookout.
- Blue Pools.
- Haast Pass Lookout.
When did the Haast road open?
6 November 1965
Norma Holyoake, wife of Prime Minister Keith Holyoake, cut the ribbon to open the final section of the Haast road at Knights Point on 6 November 1965. The ceremony, held in heavy rain, was something of an anticlimax.
When was Haast Pass built?
In 1960 the Haast Pass road (part of State Highway 6) opened from Otago to Haast on the coast.
Is Franz Josef or Fox Glacier better?
The most dramatic formations occur on a glacier when it moves downwards on a steep gradient. Fox Glacier has a gradual incline whereas Franz Josef is steeper. The surface of Franz Josef Glacier is full of crevasses and ice caves, where you have a much better chance of seeing the famous blue ice.
Who is Haast Pass named after?
Julius von Haast
The Haast Pass / Tioripatea is a mountain pass in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. Māori used the pass in pre-European times. The pass takes its name from Julius von Haast, a 19th-century explorer who also served as provincial geologist for the provincial government of Canterbury.