Jackson Bay

Jogging off a one-lane bridge after taking photos

Jackson Bay wharf

'There's dolphins behind you!'

The dolphins were about where Malcolm's hat is

looking into Fiordland...

...from another bridge

peaceful wetland walk

whitebaiting at river mouth

Malcolm walks into my photo!

Today we took the road to Jackson Bay.  There was cloud hanging around the mountains first thing but it burnt off as the day progressed.  This road runs south-west from Haast Junction for 48 kms.  At Jackson Bay there is a wharf (the only natural deep water wharf on the West Coast) and a mobile cafe called the Craypot.  Couldn't risk sitting outside though because of the sandflies.  We had a coffee in the car and they were battering on the windows!

We had lunch at Neils Beach which was stunning, and what was even better than the view was that there were 2 dolphins swimming up and down in front of us.  They looked like Hectors Dolphins but we didn't manage to get a good photo, they are too quick!  The road goes inland here through dense rainforest - like a green tunnel - crossing the Arawata River where there are good views of the Haast Range.

At Okuru we did a short loop walk which is partly through bush (the trees are really tall) and partly through wetland.  Back in the bus the sky is blue and the mountains are cloud-free - shame tomorrow's forecast is for rain.