Wānaka
Laid-back mountain lake and #ThatWanakaTree.
Discover Wānaka
Wānaka sits 65 kilometres from Queenstown, about an hour over the Crown Range. As a base it is quieter, the campsites are cheaper, and the distance is easy for day trips into Queenstown. The best-known walk is Roys Peak: 16 kilometres return, 1,200 metres of climbing, 5 to 6 hours, no shade at all. If that is not for you, there is plenty around the lake that fits into two hours.
Highlights
- #ThatWanakaTree on the lakeshore
- Roys Peak Track (views)
- Lake Wānaka & Lake Hāwea
- Gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park
Good to know
- Island
- South Island
- Best time to visit
- Year-round
You'll explore Wānaka most flexibly with your own campervan.
Request a campervanTravel tips & routesBest time to visit Wānaka
Wānaka works year-round, but the seasons here are very different from one another. December to February is swimming weather, the lake reaches about 18 degrees, every track is open and the town is full. March to May is our favourite: the poplars along the shore turn, the air is clear, and Roys Peak has twenty people on it in the morning instead of a hundred. June to August is ski season, with Treble Cone and Cardrona both under 40 minutes away, and the town runs on winter visitors rather than walkers. Roys Peak is walkable in winter but holds snow up top and gets slippery. From early October to mid-November Roys Peak closes for lambing, which catches a lot of people out in planning. The exact dates are published each year on the DOC website.
Roys Peak: what it is actually like
The track is 16 kilometres return and climbs 1,228 metres continuously, without a single flat stretch. It crosses farmland, there is not one tree and no shade, and in summer you feel that from nine in the morning. Most people take 3 hours up and 2 down.
The famous viewpoint on the narrow ridge is not the summit; it sits about 40 minutes below it. In peak season 50 to 100 people queue there in the morning for the same photograph. Carry on to the actual summit and you get the better view and usually have it to yourself.
The car park on Wanaka-Mount Aspiring Road is small and full from 6am in summer. With a campervan it gets tight. It is easier to sleep in town and cycle the six kilometres or get dropped off.
- 16 km return, 1,228 metres of climb, 5 to 6 hours, no shade
- Two litres of water each, there is nothing on the way
- Closed early October to mid-November for lambing
- The photo spot is below the summit; the summit is emptier
- Small car park, full before 6am in summer
Wānaka or Queenstown as a base?
For campervan travellers, a lot points to Wānaka. Campsites cost 10 to 20 NZD less a night, there are more legal places to park nearby, and the town is quiet in the evening rather than loud. Queenstown is an hour away, which is fine for bungy, the Shotover Jet or a Milford tour.
What Queenstown has is the range of activities and the departure point for most tours. Book a Milford Sound trip from Queenstown and it leaves at 7am, with the hour from Wānaka on top of that.
Our advice for two or three nights in the area: sleep in Wānaka, drive to Queenstown for the activities. If you have a week, split it properly between the two.
Where to park up
The Queenstown Lakes District is strict about freedom camping and Wānaka is part of it. It is banned in town and along the whole lakefront, patrols are regular, and the fine is 200 NZD.
The legal free option is Albert Town Campground on the Clutha River, about 5 kilometres out, self-contained only. It is basic, has toilets and sits right on the water. In January it is full by the afternoon.
The DOC campsites on Lake Hāwea and along Lake Wānaka towards Makarora cost 10 to 15 NZD per person and are the nicer choice. Boundary Creek on the western shore sits right at the water with a mountain view, and is one of those places where you stay an extra day for no particular reason.
Mount Aspiring and the Matukituki Valley
From town, Wanaka-Mount Aspiring Road runs 50 kilometres into the Matukituki Valley, the last 30 of them gravel. Our campervans handle it, but slowly, and after heavy rain the fords can be impassable. Allow a good hour for the drive.
At the end is the Raspberry Creek car park, the trailhead for the Rob Roy Glacier Track. Ten kilometres return, about 4 hours, and it ends in front of a glacier wall with waterfalls coming off it. This is the most striking walk in the region and far quieter than Roys Peak.
For shorter legs, the Blue Pools at Makarora, an hour north, are a 1.5-kilometre boardwalk to glacier-blue water, done in 45 minutes and easy with children.
#ThatWanakaTree and the quieter alternatives
The willow standing in the water is New Zealand's most photographed tree, about a ten-minute walk west of the town centre along the shore. At sunrise in summer there are 30 to 50 people there with tripods. The picture still works, because everyone lines up on the same axis.
If you want it emptier: the lakefront path towards Waterfall Creek is quiet at any hour, and the Diamond Lake Track five minutes out of town gives you a view over lake and mountains in an hour that other people climb five hours on Roys Peak for.
And one place almost nobody drives to: Lake Hāwea, 15 minutes north, is a deeper blue than Lake Wānaka, has a quieter shore road, and a lookout at the dam where you will usually be alone.
Getting to Wānaka
There are two roads from Queenstown. Over the Crown Range it is 65 kilometres and about an hour, on New Zealand's highest state highway with tight hairpins on the Queenstown side. It is fine for our campervans, though chains can be required in winter. The alternative via Cromwell on SH6 takes about 1.5 hours, is flat, and is the safe winter choice. From Christchurch via Tekapo and the Lindis Pass, around 5 hours. Westwards, SH6 crosses the Haast Pass to the West Coast, about 3 hours to Haast with no fuel station on the way. Filling up in Wānaka is therefore compulsory if you are heading west.
Frequently asked questions about Wānaka
- How long does Roys Peak take?
- 16 kilometres return and 1,228 metres of climbing, which is 3 hours up and 2 down for most people. There is no shade and no water on the track, so carry two litres each and start early in summer.
- When is Roys Peak closed?
- From early October to mid-November for lambing on the farmland the track crosses. The exact dates change each year and are published by DOC. Good substitutes are the Diamond Lake Track or Isthmus Peak on Lake Hāwea.
- Wānaka or Queenstown as a campervan base?
- Usually Wānaka: sites cost 10 to 20 NZD less, there are more legal places nearby, and the evenings are quiet. Queenstown is an hour away over the Crown Range. The drive only becomes a nuisance for tours that leave Queenstown early.
- Is freedom camping allowed in Wānaka?
- Not in town or along the lakefront. The Queenstown Lakes District is strict and patrols regularly, with a 200 NZD fine. The legal free option is Albert Town Campground on the Clutha River for self-contained vehicles, about 5 kilometres out.
- Can I drive the Crown Range in a campervan?
- Yes, it is sealed and fine for our vehicles. It is New Zealand's highest state highway, with tight hairpins on the Queenstown side. Chains can be required when there is snow, and then the flat route via Cromwell is the better call.
- How do I get to the Rob Roy Glacier?
- Along Wanaka-Mount Aspiring Road to the Raspberry Creek car park, 50 kilometres with the last 30 on gravel, a good hour of driving. The walk is 10 kilometres and takes about 4 hours. After heavy rain the fords can be impassable, so check with DOC first.
- Can you swim in Lake Wānaka?
- Yes, it reaches about 18 degrees at the height of summer. The shallower bays at Eely Point and Waterfall Creek are warmer than the open shore. Lake Hāwea next door is colder but usually emptier.
- How far is Wānaka from the West Coast?
- About 3 hours to Haast over the Haast Pass, 145 kilometres on SH6. There is no fuel station on the way, so fill up in Wānaka. The Blue Pools at Makarora sit halfway and make a good stop.
Discover Wānaka by campervan
Seven models, fair terms, pickup in Auckland & Christchurch. We reply ourselves, fast and personally.
