So, we left Queenstown a day early and that put us ahead of schedule. It was a gorgeous day so we decided to drive the Haast Pass because we knew it wouldn’t be icy (safety first, kids).

The drive for the day was Queenstown to Wanaka, via Arrowtown / Arrow Junction, then over the Haast Pass to (shockingly) Haast, then on to Jackson Bay.

(Above: Drive route (roughly).)

We picked the scenic route rather than the highway, travelling via Arrowtown and then some squiggly roads towards Wanaka. We were lucking in having a school bus driver ahead of us, showing us where the pull outs etc were for larger vehicles. Thanks random bus driver!

The view on this little drive was stunning, but hard to capture in photos. So instead of a beautiful scenic shot, I give you my “slightly-blurred and poorly-exposed with hot air balloon if you squint” shot. You’re welcome.

Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea were both lovely. We stopped briefly in Wanaka for some groceries and other boring necessities, and then it was on to Haast Pass!

(Above: Shots from Haast Pass, where we failed completely to read names while gawking.)

Every time I think we’re getting used to the beauty here, it comes and hits us with something new, like the Blue Pools. This was about a 30-40 minute walk, and worth every step. So, so pretty.

We continued on Haast Pass, stopping at Fantail Falls and Thunder Creek Falls along the way, and eventually popping out of the mountains at Haast. Population is apparently about 200 most of the year, and then it spikes to 2000 during whitebait season. Which is now. So I suppose it’s busy here at the moment, but you wouldn’t know it!

(Above: Fantail Falls and Thunder Creek Falls.)

We had lots of sunlight left, and decided to head down the coast to Jackson Bay. The drive was completely different scenery, with glimpses of stunning ocean. Almost everything was closed, so we turned around to find a campsite for the night.

Kurt found us a looker, too! A gorgeous, private little spot off Arawhata river. We cooked the fresh salmon we’d bought on the drive for dinner and settled in for a quiet night.

In the morning, we explored the river more and then headed back into Haast for some much-needed phone reception and fuel. And now we’re not sure where we’re going to the rest of today. So, off for another free-form adventure!

(Oh, almost forgot – thanks for the super-comforting signage, NZ!)