Haast is located in one of the worlds’ most remote locations, adjacent to the beautiful and rugged Mount Aspiring National Park, in the heart of the South West New Zealand U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage Area. It is a small community of approximately 300 residents that stretches over a 50 kilometre radius, from Knight’s Point in the north, to Jackson Bay Okahu in the south, and inland to Haast Pass in the east. The region includes the three scattered settlements of Haast, Haast Junction and Haast Beach. The Haast region, which covers 2,500 square kilometres, was originally isolated until the road over the Southern Alps was built in 1965, and today is reached via the Haast Pass which is the southern gateway to the West Coast. If travelling along this scenic road from Wanaka to Haast, it is worth noting that shortly after leaving Wanaka visitors can enjoy great views over Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka, and 55 kilometres before reaching Hasst it is worth looking out for the 28 metre high Thunder Creek Falls. The Haast region is an area of unique scenery and wildlife, and one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand comprising impressive landscapes of sweeping dramatic coastlines, glacier-fed rivers, white-water rapids, lakes and thick rainforests covering steep hillsides.
Haast offers a Department of Conservation Visitors Centre which supplies information on the local area, including the Mount Aspiring National Park and the South West New Zealand U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage Area which covers a staggering 26,000 square kilometres of pristine wilderness. The Haast region also provides a range of accommodation, cafes, restaurants, general store, service station and friendly pubs in which visitors are more than welcome. Apart from the fantastic scenery which surrounds Haast, most visitors take the opportunity to enjoy the outdoor activities through guided nature tours, helicopter flights, jet boat rides, fishing and river safaris. The region abounds with wildlife and is known as a birdwatchers paradise and an area where such rarities as Hector Dolphins can be seen and where Fiordland Crested Penguins, Blue Penguins and Fur Seals abound.
Settled in the 1870’s, Haast was named after Julius von Haast, the gentleman who named the Franz Josef Glacier after the Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is today considered to be the centrepiece of New Zealand’s south west, due to its wild scenic beauty. The local economy is based around farming, fishing and tourism.
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