Jackson Bay – on the edge of the wilderness

After leaving the West Coast highway of the South Island at Haast and following the small road further south to its very end, I arrived at the sleepy village of Jackson Bay. It’s a relic of early settlement policy, which planned to establish a rural hub for farmers here. But the harsh, damp climate of the West Coast, where clouds from the westerly winds pile up against the Southern Alps and pour down with rain, thwarted all the efforts of the first settlers. Today, the few inhabitants make a living from fishing or the handful of travellers booking a boat passage further south. This is where the wilderness of Mount Aspiring and Fiordland National Park begins—a challenge for any extreme adventurer, mountaineer, or hiker.