Scenic Drive across Haast Pass from Fox Glacier to Wanaka

16 March 2025

This is the day that we would drive from Fox Glacier to Wanaka. The 262 km journey should take about 3.5 hours without any stops but there are many attractions and sights to see along the way so it could take much longer. I had originally planned to do the following activities along the way:

• Do a short walk at Monro Beach where we may have a chance to spot penguins on the beach.
• Enjoy the views of the ocean at Knights Points Lookout and maybe spot some dolphins in the sea.
• Take a short walk at Ship Creek to feed some sandflies.
• View the waterfall at Thunder Creek Falls.
• View Fantail Falls.
• Stop at the Lake Wanaka Lookout for photos.
• Stop at the Lake Hawea Lookout for photos.
• Stop at the Lake Hawea Dam Lookout for photos.

With the activities during the journey, we would arrive at Wanaka in the evening. We had planned to hike up Roy’s Peak for sunrise the next day, departing early at 4 AM on Monday.

We had to ditch our plan due to rain forecasted at Wanaka on the day we were supposed to do the hike.

Rain forecasted for Monday, the day we planned to do the hike up Roy’s Peak for sunrise.

We decided to do a direct drive to Wanaka, timing to arrive at noon so that we could do the hike up to Roy’s Peak in the afternoon while the weather is still good. This meant that we only had time for brief stops at a FEW really nice places.

We left Rainforest Motel in Fox Glacier at first light. It was a good thing I had chosen to make full payment at check-in, so we could just leave the keys in the room upon check-out. We were probably the first car that departed the motel on this day.

Departing Rainforest Motel at 7.50 AM.

Fox Glacier was like a ghost town early in the morning. Ours was the only car on the road.

We took the Coastal Highway 6 southwards. We passed through several one-lane bridges, very common on this stretch of the highway.

Bridge over Fox River. One of the many one-lane bridges along Highway 6.

Another one lane bridge over Cook River.

Karangarua Bridge.

I love driving in the morning. There were lesser cars on the road and the morning light made the scenery more beautiful. We had to look out for cyclists though. We passed by a few groups of them.

Followed behind this group of cyclists slowly across one of the narrow bridges.

Driving through a tunnel of trees.

View of Mahitahi River and the Southern Alps.

Beautiful landscape as viewed from the car.

It started raining as we drove through the coastal area.  We passed by Knights Point Lookout and Ship Creek but did not make any stop. We probably did not missed much since the weather was not good.

We had brief views of a rainbow as we approached Haast.

A bit of the rainbow as seen from the car due to the light rain.

After crossing the long one-lane bridge over the Haast River, we made a stop at the Haast Visitor Center. This place has excellent toilet facilities and information about what to do and see around Haast. Haast is also the place to top up petrol, if needed, before attempting to drive across the Haast Pass.

Haast Visitor Center.

The 140 km stretch of road between Haast and Wanaka is known as the Haast Pass Highway. The road winds among steep mountains cloaked in lush rainforest and cross tumbling rivers. Clouds were seen overhead. Fortunately, there was no rain on this dangerous, narrow and curvy road.

On the Haast Pass Highway (also Highway 6) towards Thunder Creek Falls.

We made a brief stop to view the Thunder Creek Falls and also to get a break from the driving. There are several waterfalls along the Haast Pass highway and this falls is probably the most impressive and accessible.

Thunder Creek Falls.

A few minutes away from Thunder Creeks Falls is the metal bridge over the Haast River, called the Gate of Haast. This is a good landmark on this drive but parking near the bridge is limited and also on the opposite side of the road.

Gate of Haast.

Haast Bridge. This bridge is an impressive crisscross of steel girders – beautifully designed and very sturdy.

We passed by several attractions such as Fantail Falls, Haast Pass Lookout (requires a hike) and Blue Pools (temporarily closed) but we chose not to stop.

The beautiful blue waters of Lake Wanaka soon came into view on our right side.

Lake Wanaka with deep blue water and mountains in the back

For the next 15 minutes or so, we were treated to beautiful views of the lake on our right as we travelled on the winding road that hugged the side of the mountain on our left.

Highway 6 along Lake Wanaka.

There are a couple of lookout points along this stretch of Highway 6 but they were all located on the right side of the road. It was dangerous to access these lookout points so we just enjoyed the views from the car.

After passing through a stretch of land known as the Neck, we stopped at a lookout point (Google Maps location here) on our left. This lookout point provides nice views of Lake Hawea and the surrounding mountains.

Snapping photos at the Lake Hawea Lookout point, just after the Neck.

This lookout point provides good view of the curvy road going down the side of Lake Hawea.

Driving down the highway with Lake Hawea on our left.

Car overtaking a slow vehicle on this dangerous stretch of road.

The drive to Wanaka was so scenic that we took our time to appreciate the scenery. This is not so for the locals who are probably sick of the views by now.

There is another lookout point further down the highway, near the middle of Lake Hawea (Google Map Location here). The second Lake Hawea Lookout Point had just a small area by the road for several cars to park. We managed to squeeze our car into the space.

A path leads to the viewpoint just above the car park where we enjoyed views of the blue waters of Lake Hawea. If we had come on a rainy or cloudy day, the views may not be as good.

Lake Hawea is so blue!

Views from the Lake Hawea Lookout.

This was the last stop we made on our way to Wanaka. We were glad to note that the weather was perfect for our planned hike in the afternoon.

It was slightly past noon when we arrived at the town centre of Wanaka. During the drive, we did research and chose to eat at Gusto168, a Chinese restaurant. 

Hot and spicy Szechuan soup.

Foo Yong Omelette with whitebait.

Stir fried beef with ginger and onions.

Mapo Tofu dish.

The food at Gusto was quite good but I felt that the prices were a bit too high. We were charged NZD 135 for the above food, 3 steamed rice and 3 cans of Coke.

By the time we finished lunch, it was 1 PM. Everything has gone according to our new plan. We even had time to check into our accommodation in Wanaka before starting our challenging hike up Roy’s Peak.

Next post: Overcoming the challenge we set ourselves by hiking up Roy’s Peak.

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Fox Glacier - Lake Matheson hike and Glowworm Hunting at Minnehaha Walk

15 March 2025

Lake Matheson is one of the most popular lakes in New Zealand and famous for its mirror-like reflections of New Zealand's highest mountain Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman from its surface. I was looking forward to taking some epic photos but the weather on this day did not look favourable.

It was about 6 PM when we arrived at the Lake Matheson car park. There was only one car there and the popular Lake Matheson Cafe had also closed. The sun sets at 7.50 PM, so there was time for us to do the hike while there is still light. In fact, I chose to come just before sunset because the best time for photos is at sunrise and also at sunset when there is usually less wind and also good lightings.

To walk around the lake will take about 1.5 hours but we did not plan to do the whole walk. Most of the epics photos I had seen were taken from an observation deck called Reflection Island. The deck is built out a little way onto the lake providing the most unobstructed views of the mountains. We will only walk to the Reflection Island to see if we could get some good photos.

Getting to Reflection Island Lookout requires a 2.4 km hike.

Like many hikes in New Zealand, we had to cross rivers via suspension bridges.

Crossing a suspension bridge at the start of the trail.

View from the suspension bridge.

I noticed that the river water below me had an unusually dark colour. In fact, this is why Lake Matheson is so special. The natural tannins in the lake create a very dark brown tone to the water which increases the reflectivity of water surface.

We soon entered a forest with many ferns and moss.

Interesting moss growing in the damp forest by Lake Matheson.

Water was dripping from the moss growing on the side of the trail.

We then entered a clearing where we could “see” Mount Tasman and Mount Cook covered in clouds. The lighting in the hour before sunset, known as the golden hour, is great for photography. It really lit up the grassland and the lone tree, in contrast with the drab grey in the background.

The light in the golden hour just before sunset lit up the lone tree and grassland.

After enjoying the views from the clearing, we entered into the forest again. There was some up and downs as we hiked toward Reflection Island.

The Lake Matheson track is a gravel path and is well-maintained.

We arrived at Reflection Island and saw the disappointing view. The water of the lake was not calm with plenty of ripples. The mountains are shrouded in clouds as expected.

View from Reflection Island. No reflection and no mountains.

I did not get the epic shot that I was hoping for but there are still some nice views from the lookout point. Ducks and geese were swimming near the shore across the lake and the place was quite peaceful.

The water is indeed very reflective if the surface is calm.

The sun was setting behind us and we had an hour before the forest gets dark.

While hiking back to the car park, we discussed about the weather forecast for Wanaka in the next few days. We had planned to do a hike up Roy's Peak for sunrise when we are at Wanaka. This requires us to start our hike at 4 AM, giving us 3 to 4 hours to get to the Roy’s Peak Lookout for sunrise. Rain was forecasted for the day of our planned hike and also the day after. The only time of good weather was on the day that we arrived at Wanaka.

We decided to change our plan. We would now leave early from Fox Glacier, drive to Wanaka through the Haast Pass which takes about 3.5 hours and aimed to arrive by noon for lunch. We will than hike to Roy's Peak for sunset instead of sunrise. 

We spotted this spot for photos but where are the mountains?

We were the only car in the car park when we returned. On our drive back, we stopped for a moment to shoot some photos of a curious cow with cute marking on its face.

 

There is not much places for dinner at Fox Glacier. The owner at Rainforest Motel had recommended the Betsey Jane Eatery & Bar, located next to the motel. 

The highly rated restaurant was full when we arrived at 7.30 PM. The staff took our names and told us to come back later at 8.30 PM. There was time for us to take a shower at our motel before dinner.

We walked to the restaurant at 8.30 PM and as promised, we got a seat. The food and service at this eatery was quite good. Certainly a good place for a meal when staying at Fox Glacier.

Ribeye steak.

Chicken burger.

Slow Cooked Lamb Ragout.

Although we had seen glowworms at Hokitika’s Glowworm Dell, we went glowworm hunting again at Fox Glacier! 

The place to see glowworm is at Minnehaha Walk. This is a 20 minutes loop trail through the rainforest, full of old trees, mossy areas, ferns. The entrance to the trail is at the edge of Fox Glacier town, just past Bella Vista Motel. It is marked as Glacier Valley Cycleway Walkway.

Entrance to the Minnehaha Walk. 

There is no parking next to the trail. We parked on the side of the road, in front of Bella Vista Motel, and walked 20 metres walk to the entrance.

The trail is dark but we brought red torch lights, plus light from our smartphones. The trail crosses a few streams and it would not be nice to fall into them in the dark.

After a few minutes walk into the forest, we switched off all lights and let our eyes adjust to the darkness. We saw plenty of pinpoints of blue lights from the glowworms. Once again, we tried photographing the glowworms but it was not easy.

Tiny lights from the glowworms are in the midst of the branches and leaves.

We actually walked the entire loop of the Minnehaha Trail which took about 20 minutes. We stopped a few times to view the glowworms. It was a little eerie to be in the middle of the pitch dark forest but my son and I are used to this, having served in the armed forces. My wife felt a little uncomfortable but I guess the sight of the little insects made up for it.

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