West to Haast Beach

Sunday, January 15, 2012

The receptionist at my dentist's office in Hillsboro told me about a patient who once came to New Zealand and in the space of four hours went through four climate zones.  I think that today we may have replicated that feat.

Lake Wanaka

We left Wanaka and drove along and above Lake Wanaka on our left.  About 30 miles later we went over a ridge and another lake appeared on our right - Lake Hawea.  We were way above the lake which stretched miles in all directions.  The scene looked like one right out of Lord of the Rings.  And maybe it was.  The climate here was much like Eastern Oregon.

Lake Hawea

Finally we got past Lake Hawea and found that Lake Wanaka was back on our left side.  That means it much be 50-70 miles long.  At the end, near Makarora, a major river flows into the lake.  From that point, the road climbs to Haast Pass.  We also entered Mt. Aspiring National Park.  The climate here is much like Hood River in Oregon.  More rain, taller trees and lots of ground cover.  The road is two lanes wide with little or no shoulder (and we're driving on the left).  As we came down from the pass, the vegetation became more dense and the road included about six single lane bridges over the streams coming down the same canyon as the road.  Single lane means somebody has to yield.  Signs indicate whether it's you or the other guy, but often you can't see very well whether the other guy is at the bridge yet on the other side.  Challenging!

At Haast Beach on the Tasman Sea

Rain was now falling (as it often does) and it appeared more tropical.  Actually, we were entering a rainforest climate similar to the Olympic peninsula.  About an hour later we got to Haast Junction and elected to drive to the beach.  We wanted to see the Tasman Sea, the body of water that separates New Zealand and Australia.  (Actually we wanted to also visit Fox Glacier, but we ran out of time.)

We knew we were close at the service station at Haast Beach.  I asked how far away it was and the attendant said, "You're really close.  Just follow the track (trail) out there and the beach is 150 meters away."  Wow!  What a sight!  The Tasman Sea on the west coast of New Zealand.  A family was there trying out the water for us.  The waves were rough but they assured us the water was warm - about 20° C.  You do the math.  We took pictures and let them get wet.

Better them than us!

We retraced our route back to Wanaka and were rewarded with many more beautiful views of mountains, rivers, waterfalls, lakes, trees and even some deer and sheep.  Thank you God, for your creative energy!

Deer at Makarora Ranch

How many different climates did you count?