Wanaka

From the Copland Track, we made our way further south and cut inland through the Southern Alps towards the stunning resort town of Wanaka. It’s a laid back town right on Lake Wanaka with endless views of snow-capped mountains. Wanaka provided a great balance of beautiful outdoor activities with tasty spots for savory pies and fish & chips. Some highlights were:

Mount Iron Trail

We did this trail the day after completing Copland, so our legs were a bit worn out, but the views throughout the hike made it worth it! It was a short trail that began close to the town center, so once you gained some elevation, you were rewarded with beautiful views of the city, Lake Wanaka, and its surrounding mountains. Hans even went back and ran it the next morning!

Roy’s Peak Track

An absolute must-do hike that gets you high in the clouds, providing the best views of Wanaka you can get! With the summit at 4,100ft above the town, we knew this trail would be all about the views, so we waited out a few days of bad weather to make sure that we got to do it on a clear day. Apparently, many others had the same plan - we arrived to the trailhead at 6:45am and there were only a few parking spaces left! Not only was the forecast favorable, but the trail had also just reopened the day prior, after lambing season concluded (the time of year when sheep give birth - October to mid-November), so we think that only added to the chaos.

We started the trail, trudging up the steep hill saying hello to all of the sheep and their excrement along the way, and quickly became confused when the majority of people on the trail were already descending. After doing the math, we realized they must have hiked up for sunrise, probably setting off around 3am! We soon found ourselves in a cloud with no view to speak of; it was a bit disheartening, but we crossed our fingers that it’d clear and continued up. Eventually, we reached a ridge and over it, lie a whole different sight.

From this point, there were sweeping views of Mount Aspiring National Park’s massive peaks and glacial lakes that snaked through the valleys with clear blue skies above. We couldn’t believe that behind us a dense cloud still loomed, while ahead was this incredible view! Naturally, there was a long line to take a picture from the high point of the ridge. Not being able to resist, we got in line and snapped some photos. We heard that someone had actually just proposed from this very spot! We spoke with the photographer herself (just a regular hiker) who said she had no idea what was to come, and prayed her pictures had turned out okay. We all agreed the groom had been very trusting to just ask the person in line behind him to capture the moment.

The summit wasn’t far from this photo spot, so we were to the top quickly. Not as many people continued to the summit, so there were thankfully no lines for pictures here. The clouds had continued to clear, so we got stunning 360 degree views. One of our best hikes yet!

The Wanaka Tree

…or should we say #thatwanakatree as that’s the name posted on the sign as well as the name that populates in Google Maps (sigh). This might be one of the most touristy and over-photographed trees in the world; however, while it is busy, it’s not a total tourist trap. The lone tree out in the water really is captivating and since we got there early, we enjoyed it in solitude.

Wine & Tasty Food

Wanaka was the first large town we stopped at for more than a night since Wellington, so we were ready to have something other than our freeze-dried backpacking meals, which we normally have on the road (the flavors in the US put the NZ brand to shame, so we’re quickly growing tired of them). In general, we’ve found that the food here is pretty similar to that of the US. We enjoyed pizza, burgers, and plenty of our new favorite - fish & chips. One cuisine that we don’t frequently have back home, but is all over the place here is savory pies. They’re little one-serving puff pastries with different savory fillings. We enjoyed many of those, including butter chicken and beef stew, at a place called Doughbin.

We also went to Rippon Vineyard, a winery right in town. The vineyard was beautiful, but being in such a hilly area that gets downright cold in the winter, we wondered how well grapes grew there. Apparently, they have misters in the vineyards which protect the grapes from frost, enabling them to boast some of the best wine in the Otago region. Oh, and the tasting was free, yippee!

For more pictures, check out our Instagram, from_oakland_to_auckland, also linked below!