© NZPocketGuide.com
© NZPocketGuide.com

Haast Pass Road Trip – Day 126

© NZPocketGuide.com

Day 126 on the Road

The Blue Pools of Haast and Thunder Creek Falls

Today we are road tripping on Haast Pass to check out some waterfalls and The Blue Pools. If you like this video and want to see more 365 Days: 365 Activities, then join our backpacker squad on YouTube!

Today we are leaving the West Coast region of New Zealand. It’s a sad day because we’ve had such an amazing time on the West Coast We have been to the glaciers we have taken helicopters for the first time in our lives we have done we have done the highest skydive in New Zealand… It’s been amazing I absolutely love the West Coast. This is not a good day.

This morning we are leaving the West Coast of New Zealand and particularly we are leaving the Wilderness Accommodation where we’ve been staying during our time in Haast it’s a really cool place with heaps of posters on the wall of very old advertisement for activities from all around the area. It’s a really cool place.

So we are on our way toward Wanaka. Wanaka is another adventure capital of New Zealand there is heaps of stuff to do there but the journey to get to Wanaka is absolutely amazing. We are going to be driving through the pristine Haast Pass.

The Haast Pass follows the Haast River amongst pristine New Zealand forest towering mountains and stunning waterfalls and waterfall is what we are after for our first pit stop we are looking for the Thunder Creek Falls which is a very accessible and yet amazing weaterfall.

This whole area was formed by glaciers around 20,000 years ago and it’s actually the lowest pass that passes through the Southern Alps at about 562m above sea level.

We are in the Mt Aspiring National Park about to see the Thunder Creek Falls. We are currently walking through some chopped up rainforest. So it used to be rainforest but here’s the stunning part.

Thunder Creek Falls is probably the most accessible waterfall we could get to in New Zealand. And it is an awesome opportunity to take some ridiculous photos.

Oh yeah. Lap up that Thunder Creek Falls.

Thunder Creek Falls is a really stunning place to explore. The waterfall drops about 28m into the river below and to get here only takes about well officially 10 minutes but really it only takes about 2 minutes. But that’s just enough time for Robin to completely ruin his day.

No. In a split of a second the gimble goes down in the water and the GoPro goes down in the water as well so both of them are floating the gimble took such a massive hit that the GoPro is now detached from the gimble and floating in the water and all of that in a split second so I grab them back and get them out of the water and you know walk through the water and jump to the shore of the river. And I’m like holy shoot this is 2 grand worth of equipment right here. Literally 2 grand worth of equipment are right here in my hand soaking wet. I am just peed.

How do you feel right now robin?

Robin dropped some of our camera gear in the water. Well done, Robin.

Needless to say, Robin is taking the rest of the drive with a very very grumpy attitude. He is not happy. But our next destination is bound to cheer him up. We are next going to the Blue Pools of Haast.

We are on the track to go and see the Blue Pools of Haast.

While the camera and the gimble are now trying to dry up in a massive amount of rice in the campervan we are making our way toward the crown jewel of the Haast Pass which is the Blue Pools of Haast. The short walk toward the pools is really awesome. We passing through amazing native podocarp forest and stunning features the trees are towering above us the views are absolutely awesome and the vegetation is super dense we feel kind of alone until we reach one of the first swing bridge of the walk which is going to give a pre taster of what is to come. What New Zealand is not complete without a swing bridge or two and the views below already are really beautiful with this super clear blue water and it’s another short walk through another section of forest until we reach the main attraction of the area over the top of the Blue Pools themselves.

The Blue Pools of Haast are best seen from the top of the second swing bridge of the walk from there we can see the beautiful turquoise blue waters the gorgeous mossy rocks it is such a classic New Zealand sight right here. It is an amazing place to spend some time and the locals love to spend heaps of time here. And that is best seen from the the beach nearby the pools where a ton of people have stacked a massive amount of rocks just because it looks cool I guess? I’m joining the fun before making our way back toward the campervan.

The blue pools walk is an hour return walk so we are returning the same way that we came in. But we are not complaining when we are walking yet again in this beautiful beech forest and making our way back towards the campervan where we can complete our drive through Haast Pass.

During this drive we can see the landscape change dramatically right before our eyes. We are leaving the rugged coastline of the West Coast and are heading toward the towering mountains and placid lakes of the central South Island. This is the beginning of our mid South Island adventure where we’re going to be exploring Wanaka and Queenstown and have an amazing epic experiences for you guys.

Tomorrow our adventure in Wanaka officially begins. We are going to do a type of climbing that I need to refer to my notes to pronounce.

Ferrata. We are going to be doing ferrata climbing up some waterfalls tomorrow with Wild Wire. I am so excited.

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