Wanaka Things to Do

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Mt Aspiring National Park that is - a wild and wonderful world of wide meadows and rushing streams in the Matukituki Valley all leading deep into the mountains that surround Mt Aspiring itself, the highest peak outside the Mt Cook National Park.

To begin your walk in the park, head out of Wanaka to the east along Mt Aspiring Road. You'll come to the end of the tarmac but the road continues and is usually in a reasonable enough condition for ordinary vehicles though there are several fords to be crossed. If you don't have your own transport there are buses that make the 55km run out to the start of the main trail - ask at the Visitor's Centre in town for information on these.

The trail begins at the Raspberry Creek carpark, taking you out into the park along a gently rising grassy track beside the Matukituki River. From here, an hour-long walk will give you good views of the Avalanche and Rob Roy Glaciers. If you're looking for something more challenging, you can go on to tackle the Rob Roy Track, 10km long and quite demanding in places - it leads off from the swing bridge over the river.

There are any number of tramps in the park, from a few hours to several days. Some, like the one described here, are an easy stroll, others are very demanding. The Mt Aspiring Visitor's Centre can provide you with all the information you need to plan your hike successfully and safely.

This is a beautiful area and a good way to spend half a day or full day near Wanaka. The valley is very scenic and ideal for a drive with many scenic spots and great picnic areas or areas simply to enjoy walking.

The valley follows the west road out of Wanaka past the skifield and gets you into the Mt Aspiring National Park area.

Many different longer walking tracks are accessible from this valley. Do check the weather however before you leave Wanaka (with Dept of Conservation in town ) as the weather in the valley can often change and while it might be fine in Wanaka, the valley may be a different story.

This place has a huge maze where you search for four corners in order and then try to work your way back out. It has walkways and is quite challenging but luckily, there are bail out doors if you tire. The centre also has a collection of unusual buildings with puzzles, illusions and other downright strange things.

Well worth a visit and great for a rainy day.

This is a moderate 2-3 hour return track that will give you stunning views of the Lake, Wanaka and surrounding areas. I highly recommend it and its not far from town.

You can do the lower and shorter walk to the viewpoint above Diamond Lake, continue a little further to the viewpoint which looks east over Lake Wanaka, or for the full track, head up to the Rocky Mountain peak. This is quite steep and is slippery in winter, so be careful.

This is where Lake Wanaka flows into the Clutha River.

It is a great walking / biking track and is a continuation of the Wanaka Lakeside walk and ends up in Albert Town which is around 5kms from Wanaka. The track would take about an hour.

This stretch of the Clutha is a known Trout fishing spot and is very scenic. The colour of the water will stun you!

This walk can be made as long or short as you want and has many access points from all over the shoreline of Lake Wanaka.

The span of the walk is from Waterfall Creek on the Western side of the Lake to the Lake Outlet into the mighty Clutha river on the eastern side. Most people will find it though in the middle of the town centre and the track stays within 20 metres of the shoreline.

Its total length is 12kms and would take say 3 hours one way. Aside from the town centre, the main access points are Waterfall Creek, Eely Point, Bremner Bay, Beacon Point or the Outlet which can be accessed off Aubrey Road.

The track is flat and is in great condition, suitable for walkers, runners and cyclists.

A great 2 hour relatively flat walk with excellent lake and mountain views. Along the way are various historic (marked) spots. This track is good for mountain biking as well, with a few uphill and downhill bits.

You can walk from the town to the start of this track, would take about half an hour and takes you past the Rippon vineyard on the Western shore of Lake Wanaka.

The Central Otago region has many good wineries and you could do an entire day or two visiting all the wineries and sampling tasting (get a driver though). See for detail

However, when in Wanaka, a local vineyard, Rippon provides a close to town experience. In fact you could walk around the Lake to the vineyard (it would take about 20-30 mins), taste some nice wine, buy a bottle or two & walk back. Perfect!

While you are there try a game of GolfCross which is sort of like golf but with an oval ball.