Wanaka Things to Do

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Wanaka is just off State Highway 6 which is the road to the west coast over the Haast Pass. After leaving Wanaka you travel to Albert Town and Hawea. The road continues along the west side of Lake Hawea until The Neck, which is a narrow piece of land between Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka. From here the raod takes you along the east side of Lake Wanaka to Makarora and the name of the road changes from Makarora-Lake Hawea Road to Haast Pass-Makarora Road.

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Lake Hawea runs almost parallel with Lake Wanaka and at one place, called The Neck', is as close as 1 km. It is a popular place for water sports and fishing and the mountain streams are good for jet-boating. It is also close to the Wanaka and Cardrona Ski-fields.

It is famous for its beautiful blue-green colour and is at its best on a sunny day.

The small township of Hawea lies at the southern end of the lake and State Highway 6 to the west coast follows the shore as far as The Neck.

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Lake Wanaka is one of the most picturesque lakes in the South Island. There are still towering snow caps but the aspect seems softer. The area has lots to do all year round and is particularly popular in the autumn.

Even in cloudy weather the autumn colours are still striking.

Wanaka is a superb spot for doing some mountain biking.

There are a variety of different trails, from beginner to experienced, take your pick. Or you can simply bike around the town and lake edge. There is a walking / biking track that loops right around the Lake edge from the Wanaka township thru to Albertown some 6-10kms down the track.

A good spot is the Sticky Forest area which is on the right from the Lakeside track.

The local sports shop by the supermarket can rent you bikes as can a number of places in town.

This interesting Museum has a number of rare and unusual aircraft, cars, trucks, motorcycles, fire appliances, military vehicles and tractors, as well as automobiles. It is also jammed full of toys, more than 25,000 in fact. Come & visit, you will be amazed.

A quad bike safari is a great way to see some spectacular scenery and have a lot of fun. If you haven't ridden a quad before , they will give you time and enough turns around the paddock to feel you have more than got the hang of it, and then you're off. Up and up you go, over sheep trails and along ridges until you may even be above the cloud line. The views are wonderful, the air is clear and clean, there's plenty of time to stop and stare, taking it all in, before you head back.

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This hugely popular airshow is a biennial event - the next one is Easter 2012 - taking place over three days. Friday is practice day - with public admission at a reduced cost.. Saturday and Sunday see a full day 's programme of flying.

It's a great weekend with classic aircraft such the Hurricane, Messerschmit, Kittyhawk, Catalina and Mustang showing their stuff, but here are lots of other interesting aircraft - historic and modern - on display both on the ground and in the air. Yaks flying in formation, the New Zealand Air Force aerobatic team, tiny Polikarpovs (my favourites) from Russia's WWII airforce, Harvards, WWI Sopwith Camels, Tiger Moths, one year a vintage Bleriot - built in 1918 and still flying - this year an F1-11 as well as world champion aerobatic aces Jurgis Kairys , were all part of the show.

The planes are all parked on the field in very close proximity to the vistors when they're not flying, so it's really easy to get a good look at them - particularly on the Friday practice day when the number of attendees is relatively small.

The setting is glorious - snow-capped mountains in the background and - this being New Zealand - there's a terrific, relaxed and easy-going atmosphere. The whole town is caught up in the show and really buzzes all weekend.

El monte Aspiring , que no Aspirina como lo traducen algunas guías , lo llaman los Maories Tititea , tiene una altura de 3003 m y es parte del Parque Nacional Mount Aspiring
Es el sitio ideal para hacer montañismo , esquí ...pero nosotros tuvimos que dejarlo para el "próximo" viaje

Mount Aspiring, which is wrongly translated as Aspirin in some guides , it is called Tititea by the Maori , has a height of 3003 m and is part of Mount Aspiring National Park
It is the ideal place for mountaineering, skiing ... but we had to leave it for the "next" trip