Wanaka is a gorgeous little town located within the Otago region in the Queenstown lakes district which lies on the edge of the stunning Wanaka lake. It has a population of 13,200 people yet over 100,000 people visit every year from December-May alone! It is located a 1 hour drive north from Queenstown or a 3 hour drive south from Fox Glacier over the scenic Haast Pass. I would recommend spending at least 3-4 days in Wanaka if you do the Roys’ Peak hike so you have a full day to recover and get everything else done, or one day less if you choose not to do it.
Wanaka is generally one of my favourite places in New Zealand and, controversially, my favourite town (sorry Queenstown)! It has such a relaxed, fun atmosphere and is a great place to do lots of hikes and be really active or lie on the lakefront and relax, there is truly something for everyone. After 2 weeks on the West Coast practically being eaten alive, we were also extremely relieved to find Wanaka the first place in a while without any sandflies or mosquitoes!
Information for campers:
The Queenstown lakes district does free camping a little differently to everywhere else we have been to. There are only 2 legal free areas in Wanaka: the first with 3 spaces is located at Beacon Mill Point Road and another with 15 spaces is in the back of the car park for the Wanaka Events Centre.
You aren’t meant to arrive before 8pm to either of these places, however everyone wants a free space and a total of 18 isn’t very much for the quantity of people who visit Wanaka each day so sometimes they are full by 3pm! There is a check-in system so people don’t show up to find there are no spots remaining, but this only opens at 8pm so is really quite useless. We had a look at the Beacon Mill Point Road campsite and it looked okay, but after reading some reviews on Campermate which warned of being fined if you were there too early, we decided not to stay.
This then creates some issues as there is the potential risk of a fine if you are in one of the spaces before the allotted time of 8pm. We spent 2 nights at the Wanaka Events Centre and got there around 3pm or 4pm and were fine both times. A Department of Conservation person came round both nights at 5pm and told everyone they had to be gone by 8am the next morning and put up a sign saying the campsite was full. They didn’t comment on everyone being there so early so it must happen often over the busy summer period.
A benefit of this site is that you can pay $8.20 per adult to use the swimming pool and then have an unlimited hot shower afterwards, or just pay $5 for a shower. It is also about a 3 minute walk from the New World supermarket which is really convenient. There are 2 porta-loos in the car park for use when the recreation centre is closed. This campsite’s main downside is that it is a 45 minute walk to town so you’re either stuck there from mid-afternoon or having to spend an hour and a half walking there and back.
If you don’t want to have to choose between those then i would say the best option is the paid campsite called Albert Town which is located just a 10 minute drive outside of central Wanaka town. It costs $12 per adult per night and is one of my favourite camp sites in New Zealand. It is a large field with hundreds of spaces so you can turn up whenever you want and always find a spot. You pay on entry at a meter like you would for general parking. There are 4 flush toilets in the centre of the camp and a load of porta-loos and long drops dotted around the camp. A gorgeous river also curves round the campground on the east and south sides which is great for a dip! It is run very well and we were very happy with our 2 nights stay here, so would highly recommend staying too.
Now onto things to do during your stay in Wanaka!
1. Visit the Wanaka tree
Funny how Wanaka has so much to be famous for it but is most known for housing New Zealand’s most famous tree! It gained global fame after winning a 2014 New Zealand photography award and has been popular ever since. The willow tree started as a fence post driven into the ground over 70 years ago and has been a symbol of resilience since.
There are always crowds taking pictures so it is very hard to miss. Simply take a 15-minute easy walk west around the coast from the town and you will find it (it has its own mark on google maps as ‘That Wanaka tree’ if you get stuck). It is a gorgeous spot with the Southern Alps as the backdrop. Sadly it was vandalised in March 2020 with several branches being sawn off, but it is still a sight to see! I would also recommend walking further round the footpath towards the Ruby Island car park for some great views of the mountains.
2. Hike Roys Peak
Roys Peak is one of the most popular hikes in New Zealand, and for good reason. It is a 16km return hike along the same track which is continuously very steep and has an elevation gain of 1,200m. The Department of Conservation classifies it as ‘easy to intermediate’ with a high level of fitness required. This is because the track itself is very easy to follow, just a gravel path straight up, there is no climbing or scrabbling involved. However, I was very apprehensive to attempt this hike as it was the hardest hike I had attempted so far in New Zealand and has such a reputation for being difficult due to its elevation gain.
We did the hike at the very beginning of February and started the day with a lovely 2am alarm and drove the short way to the Roys Peak track parking. It is a large car park but fills up quickly so it is worth getting there earlier than you would think. By the time we got changed and ready we started the hike itself at 2:45am. I was glad we did it for sunrise as it meant you couldn’t see how much further you had to go!
We reached the famous Roys Peak lookout nearly 2 and a half hours later at 5:10am after a gruelling 6.5km walk. This is where all the famous instagram pictures are taken! Originally this is as far as we were going to go but we were faster than expected and didn’t fancy waiting an hour and 20 minutes until sunrise, so climbed the additional 1.5km to reach the summit!
We reached the summit just before 6am and waited patiently until we watched the sunrise at 6:30am with a load of other people who had also reached the top! The view was absolutely breathtaking and definitely made the climb worth the effort, however it was absolutely freezing so make sure you bring lots of layers! We were lucky enough to have a clear day and an amazing sunrise. We started the descent at 7am and it took us about 2 hours and we were back to our car at 9am. The descent was almost harder than the ascent as it is very tough on the knees but the views on the way down made it worthwhile. It was mind-blowing to have done nearly 30k steps so early in the day!
Although originally being hesitant to do this hike due to its elevation gain and popularity, I would now absolutely recommend it to anyone. There are a lot of people on the track but it was not unbearable in the least, and everyone we met was so nice; it created a sense of camaraderie. I would say you need a reasonable level of fitness to complete it but as long as you go slowly and take as many breaks as you need, you should be fine! If you want more in-depth information, then read: Everything to know before hiking Roy’s Peak
3. Walk the Wanaka boardwalk and spot Southern Crested Grebes
The boardwalk is located to the east of town and took us 45-60 minutes to walk from the town centre, along the boardwalk and back. It is a very easy 2km round trip across the beach and along the boardwalk and is suitable for everyone. On this walk, you can learn all about the birds that call Wanaka lake home, especially the rare Southern Crested Grebes.
This funny bird is only found in New Zealand and Australia, and sadly has a population of less than 1000 remaining in New Zealand’s South Island, after becoming extinct in the North Island. You can learn about local retired zoologist John Darby and how his floating platforms are helping the breed to recover. Other birds that can be seen include mallards, New Zealand scaups, coots and grey-faced herons.
4. Hire a kayak or paddle board
Lake Wanaka is absolutely stunning, and can be appreciated even more from the water! There are a few places you can hire boards from, including Paddle Wanaka and Lakeland Wanaka , which are both located on the lakefront. They offer different deals depending on what board you want to hire and how long for, starting with a single kayak hire from $35 an hour.
However they are very popular and sell out very quickly so it would be worth getting there early in the day or booking in advance. We found an hour kayaking the lake to be very fun but definitely felt it in our shoulders the next day! It would be best to do it on a calm day if you are less experienced on the water.
5. Get a Patagonia ice cream
After all this activity you deserve a treat! There is nowhere better to go on a hot day than Patagonia Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery. This is a small cafe chain with 4 locations in Wanaka, Queenstown, Queenstown airport and Arrowtown. Our favourite ice cream flavours were hokey pokey, vanilla and cookies and dark chocolate but they all looked divine.
A single scoop in a cup was $7.50 and in a cone was $9.50 but they were really generous in size! Their iced coffees and hot chocolates (made with real chocolate!) were also superb. They also offer free WiFi and stunning views of the lake.
6. Take a look in The Next Chapter bookshop
We stumbled upon this charming little bookshop while taking a wander around the town. It opened in 2020 and is a great addition to the local shops. It is Wanaka’s only independently-owned bookshop and is locally-owned by 2 lovely women who were very friendly and happily gave me suggestions. It is open 10am-5pm everyday of the week except for Friday and Sunday when it closes at 3pm. The prices were very reasonable and I greatly enjoyed reading the book I bought.
7. Go to Beacon Point Road beach
This beach is about a 5 minute drive out of town but is so worth the visit. It is less well-known and there were very few people there when we visited in the middle of a peak summer day. There is a large car park with a long-drop toilet and 3 freedom camping spots for self-contained vehicles if you wanted to spend the night there.
The views were exquisite and we spent a lovely few hours sun-bathing and swimming in the sea. Do be warned that even between December and February the lake only reaches between 17°C and 20°C (62.6°F and 68°F) and can feel really quite chilly, however it is really refreshing so definitely worth the plunge!
8. Relax on the lakefront
Although i suggest a lot of great activities to do above, I would also really recommend having at least 1 chill day here if you have the time to do so. We spent a lovely day having a wander around the town and lying on the beach and felt very replenished afterwards! There is a great free car park that doesn’t have a time limit and is right next to the beach. If you drive towards the Wanaka tree it is one of the last ones on the right after all the paved 240 minutes ones. We parked our camper facing out towards the lake and read a book, went for a swim and sunbathed and it was one of our favourite days in Wanaka (and very deserved after climbing Roys Peak)!
9. Explore the town
The Wanaka town is great and full of so many fun and quirky shops, and with the views of the mountains it can’t be beaten! We spent a lovely few hours hunting for bargains in the 3 op-shops (the Hospice, Salvation Army and Wastebusters), looking in gift/souvenir shops, and staring longingly in the windows of fancy shops we can’t afford!
I would also recommend walking the Te Ara Maumahara walkway and having a look at the historic tiles which line the path just behind the lakefront. These 645 tiles each describe a significant historic event from across the world, New Zealand or from Wanaka specifically. It spans many hundreds of years and is really interesting to read to learn about Wanaka’s history.
10. Visit the Wanaka food truck park
Located on Brownstone street, this collection of food trucks offers a great variety of choices for an evening meal. You can takeaway or sit in the small seating area in the centre. Meals vary in price but are very reasonable, most are around $20 and there are options for all dietary requirements. My indecisive family loved it as we could all choose something different and still eat together!
My favourites are the Burger Club and Burrito Craft but I’m sure they are all great. Other options include Firebird which serves chicken burgers or boxes and chips, Coco Hut – Malaysian, Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese food and Pizza Pizza which i don’t think i need to specify what it serves… I love grabbing some food and enjoying it by the lake front – just watch out for the seagulls!
Thank you for reading my blog!
If you are heading to Queenstown after Wanaka, have a look at this blog for recommendations
BellaGoesBackpacking 
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