Haast Pass

Lowest road crossing of the Southern Alps, rainforest to lakes.

State Highway 6 climbs from the rainforest fringe at Haast township, threading the Haast River gorge up to the 563 m saddle of Haast Pass, the lowest of the three road passes over the Southern Alps, before dropping through the Makarora valley toward Wanaka. Along the way it passes the thundering Gates of Haast, where the river forces through a narrow fault, plus the easy waterfall walks to Thunder Creek Falls and Fantail Falls and the glacial Blue Pools near Makarora. The route is fully sealed and gently graded yet genuinely remote, with long stretches of no mobile reception. Mind the one-lane bridge at the Gates of Haast, frequent rockfall and slip closures near Clarke Bluff, and slick, shaded curves after rain.