John's Photo Gallery

The West Coast - January 24 to 26, 2007

After Queenstown we drove through the mountains across the Haast Pass (one of the three major passes that traverse the South Island) and then up the west coast. We stopped at Fox Glacier and stayed the night. We had originally planned to take an extra day at the Glaciers but we decided that there wasn't enough for us to do so we drove on to Westport and stayed there for a night instead.

The main attraction on this leg of the trip was the scenery. The pictures below include the mountains and streams on the Haast Pass, shots of Fox and Franz Joseph Glacier, the Punakaki (Pancake) Rocks, and the area around Westport.

One of the many lakes along the Haast Pass River, valley and snow-capped peak seen from the Hasst Pass
Natural waterfall along the Pass Typical one lane bridge over a river
Close up of the river under the bridge Finally reached the coast
Fox Glacier Lake Matheson
Mt Cook seen from Lake Matheson Dusk at Lake Matheson
Franz Joseph Glacier The road to Franz Joseph Glacier
The road up the West Coast Punakaki Rocks
Punakaki Rocks Blow hole at the Punakaki Rocks
More of the coastal highway Sunset in Westport
Tauranga Bay Seal Colony at Cape Foulwind Desolate weather at Cape Foulwind
Large truck on a one-lane road carved out of the side of a mountain Road weaves along the river just right of truck picture

Next stop: Nelson