Wanaka is a gorgeous town located within the Otago region in the Queenstown lakes district, lying 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 a 1 hour drive north of 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 hike and be active or lie on the lakefront and relax, there is truly something for everyone. After two weeks on the West Coast being practically eaten alive, we were relieved to arrive in Wānaka. It was the first place in a while without 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.
Arrival before 8pm to either of those areas is actually prohibited. However, everyone wants a free space and a total of 18 isn’t much for the quantity of people who visit Wanaka each day. Because of this, sometimes they are all full by 3pm! There is a check-in system so people don’t show up to find no spots remaining, but this only opens at 8pm so is really quite useless. We checked out the Beacon Mill Point Road campsite and it looked fine. However, reviews on CamperMate warned about fines for arriving too early, so we decided not to stay.
Wanaka Events Centre:
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 person from the Department of Conservation came round both nights at 5pm. They told everyone to leave by 8am the next morning and put up a “Campsite Full” sign. 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. The main downside of this campsite is that it is a 45 minute walk to town. So you are either stuck there from mid-afternoon or having to spend 90 minutes walking there and back.
Albert Town campsite:
If you don’t want to choose between those options, stay at the paid campsite in Albert Town. It 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. There 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 swim! It is run very well and we enjoyed our 2 nights stay here, so would highly recommend it.
Things to do in Wanaka:
1. Visit ‘That Wanaka Tree’
Funny how Wanaka has so much to be famous for it but is most well-known for housing New Zealand’s most famous tree! It gained global fame after winning a 2014 New Zealand photography award. 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 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 Roy’s Peak
General information about the hike:
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 as it was the hardest hike I had attempted so far in New Zealand. It has such a reputation for being difficult due to its elevation gain.
My Experience of the Hike:
We did the hike at the very beginning of February and started the day with a lovely 2am alarm. We drove the short way to the Roys Peak car park which is a large but fills up quickly. After getting ready, we started the hike at 2:45am. Walking in the dark was a blessing—we couldn’t see how much of the track was still ahead!
We reached the famous Roys Peak lookout nearly 2 1/2 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 once there we decided to climb the additional 1.5km to reach the summit!
We reached the summit just before 6am and watched the sunrise at 6:30am with loads of other people. The view was absolutely breathtaking and definitely made the climb worth the effort, however it was absolutely freezing up there. We started the descent at 7am and were back to our car at 9am. The descent almost felt harder than the ascent because 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!
Conclusions:
Although originally being hesitant to do this hike due to its elevation gain and popularity, I would absolutely recommend it. There are lots of people on the track but it was not unbearable in the least. Everyone we met was so nice and it created a sense of camaraderie. I would say you need a reasonable level of fitness to complete the hike, 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 my full guide here.
3. Walk the Wanaka boardwalk and spot Southern Crested Grebes
The boardwalk is along the east of town and took us 45-60 minutes to walk to 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 about the birds that call Lake Wanaka home, especially the rare Southern Crested Grebes.
This funny bird is only found in New Zealand and Australia. Sadly, less than 1000 remain in New Zealand’s South Island, after becoming extinct in the North Island. Local retired zoologist John Darby created floating platforms to help the breed recover. Other birds that can be seen include mallards, New Zealand scaups, coots and grey-faced herons.
4. Go Kayaking or Paddle Boarding on the Lake
Lake Wanaka is absolutely stunning, and can be appreciated even more from the water! Paddle Wanaka and Lakeland Wanaka on the lakefront both hire out boards. They offer different deals depending on what board you want to hire and how long for. Their prices starting with a single kayak or paddleboard hire from $35 an hour.
However, they are very popular and sell out 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 afterwards! 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.
One 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. Browse the Next Chapter Bookshop
We stumbled upon this charming little bookshop while taking a wander around the town. It opened in 2020 and is the only independently owned bookshop in Wānaka. The two local owners were very friendly and happily gave me some great suggestions.
They are 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. Swim at Beacon Point Road Beach
This beach is about a 5 minute drive out of town but is really worth the visit. It is less well-known and there were few people there when we visited. 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). This can feel really quite chilly, however it is very refreshing so definitely worth the plunge!
8. Relax at the Lakefront
Although I suggest lots of great activities to do, I also recommend having at least 1 chill day here. We spent a lovely day having a wander around the town and lying on the beach and felt 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 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. This ended up being one of our favourite days in Wanaka (and very deserved after climbing Roys Peak)!
9. Explore the Town
Wānaka is full of fun, quirky shops, and the mountain views make it hard to beat. 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. The historic tiles 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.
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 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. I love grabbing some food and enjoying it by the lake front – just watch out for the seagulls! You can find a list of all options here.
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If you are heading to Queenstown after Wanaka, have a look at this blog for recommendations.
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