1

To my way of thinking Haast pass is very different from a pass as the mind set i had of a pass, to my thinking i think i am right in that it seemed more of a break in a chain of mountians at sea level, not a high pass up in the mountians as i had in my mind.

To give you some idea of the pass and its altitude, i might be wrong here but i don't think it could be very much above sea level because while we were there we done a jet-boat ride on the river at Haast pass, and i don't remember any snow, ice, mist or being very high while we were in the area.

2

The Haast Pass is not particularly hilly. It's the lowest of any of the 3 South Island passes. In general, it's a good road. It is not abnormally narrow. I drove my well-used 1996 Corolla through from Lake Wanaka to Haast in January 2012 and don't recall any places where I was labouring up the hills in a low gear! There are a lot of places of interest signposted on the way. It doesn't carry anything like as much traffic as the Lewis. It is a notoriously rainy area, but I had an excellent day.

3

I just drove through both of those passes and think the Lewis was more difficult, but I wasn't thinking about cyclists while driving. The weather could be a factor, but the Haast was easier for my car than the Lewis or Arthurs (which had steep sections). Lewis and Haast both beautiful with arcades of overhanging trees.

4

I live at Lake Hawea and have had several friends cycle from Haast to Lake Hawea to stay with us. The road is no worse than the rest of the West Coast - by the time you get to Haast you have already riden the narrowest/worst!

It is 125km from Haast to Lake Hawea and it is a fairly tough day. Friends who rode from the Haast Pass to Haast say they didn't pedal (i am sure they did pedal at the end)... There is one township where you can stop and refuel/purchase anything between Haast and Lake Hawea, about 75km into the trip (on the downhill side of the pass).

From Haast the road winds up a river bed for around 40km before getting steeper to the top of the pass (maybe 15km) then there down hill interspersed with flats to Makaroa (around 75km mark) and flat/river bed route to the head of Lake Wanaka. From there to Lake Hawea is undulating (read: hilly on a bike at the end of 100km + ride) until Lake Hawea. Please read a guide book for accurate distances.

The difference between this and the Lewis is the long distances between towns/ communities. There are less flat sections in the middle (Lewis is a relatively inconspicous pass whereas you will know you have arrived at the top of the Haast. It is pretty committing once you start as there are long distances with no shops/stops!

You mention camping equipment, you could break up the trip as there are several nice camp sites but you need to be totally self sufficient as they are DOC sites. One at the bottom of the Haast Pass, about 50km from Haast township; Cameron Creek around 5km Haast side of Makaroa; Boundary Creek part way down Lake Wanaka and finally one at Lake Hawea (20km before Wanaka).

Hope this is constructive. Let us know what you decide.