Wanaka sits just 70km up the road from Queenstown, and the locals who guide here hold a very specific opinion about which town deserves your trip. Eleven years of leading hikers — living ten minutes from That Wanaka Tree — tends to clarify the matter. Here's the case for skipping the crowds and coming here instead.
Queenstown is genuinely incredible — no need to pretend otherwise. But it has become a machine, optimized for throughput: the bungy, the jet boat, the Fergburger queue. You can spend more time in lines than in nature.
Wanaka does the same things — hiking, skiing, lake activities — at a fraction of the crowd. Roy's Peak, the most famous hike, gets busy, sure. But on a Tuesday in April, you'll share the summit with maybe ten people. Try Ben Lomond in Queenstown on a Tuesday and you'll be jostling 50-plus.
Wanaka is Queenstown without the performance.
Roy's Peak. Full stop. It's a 16km return hike with 1,300 meters of elevation gain, so it isn't easy — budget 5-7 hours. But the view from the top is legitimately one of the best summit views in New Zealand: Lake Wanaka below, the Southern Alps in every direction, Mount Aspiring catching the light.
The switchback about two-thirds up is where the famous Instagram photo comes from — that zigzag ridge with the lake behind. Everyone stops there. Keep going to the top; the summit view is better.
Two tips: start before 7AM, when the parking fills up, and bring more water than you think you need. There's no shade on the exposed ridge.
They come for one night. Drive from Queenstown, see That Wanaka Tree, grab a cafe meal, drive back. You can't feel Wanaka in one night.
Stay three nights minimum. Hike Roy's Peak. Drive to Rob Roy Glacier Track — shorter, easier, and the glacier viewpoint is jaw-dropping. Spend a morning at Puzzling World getting happily lost in optical illusions. Have dinner at Francesca's Italian, where the gnocchi (NZD 32) earns its reputation. Walk the lake at sunset.
Wanaka's rhythm is slow. Give it a day to decompress from Queenstown's energy before you can feel it.
Ritual Espresso — not for dinner, for breakfast. The eggs benny with Aoraki salmon is NZD 24 and better than any brunch in Auckland. It's small, with a queue from 9AM, so arrive at 7:30.
For dinner, Big Fig does Middle Eastern-inspired food that's genuinely surprising in a small New Zealand town. The lamb shoulder (NZD 38) with zhug and labneh is the kind of dish locals come back for weekly.
Wanaka has two ski fields: Cardrona (20 minutes) and Treble Cone (30 minutes). Treble Cone is the hardcore one — steeper, less groomed, better views. Cardrona is more family-friendly, with learner areas and a terrain park.
Lift passes run NZD 120-170 per day depending on the field, and multi-day passes bring it down. The snow season runs June to October, with August-September usually offering the best coverage.
Then there's the local secret: cross-country skiing in the Pisa Range or snowshoeing along the lake edge. No crowds. No lift passes. Just you and the mountains.
The tree is a willow growing in the lake, about 100 meters from shore — the most photographed tree in New Zealand, possibly the world. Sunrise is the classic shot: the tree reflected in still water with the mountains behind.
Worth seeing? Sure. It's a beautiful tree in a beautiful setting. Worth planning your entire trip around? No. It's a tree, and the mountains behind it are more interesting.
The irony: thousands crowd this tree every sunrise and miss the view in the opposite direction, which is honestly just as good. Turn around.
Glendhu Bay, 15 minutes drive west. There's a campground right on the lake with mountain views that rival anything in the main town. In autumn, the poplars turn gold and the light off the lake is unreal — NZD 25 per adult for camping.
Diamond Lake, 20 minutes toward Queenstown. A short hike (2.5km return, 1 hour) leads to a hilltop with views of Lake Wanaka, the mountains, and a hidden lake in the valley below. Almost nobody does it, because Roy's Peak gets all the attention.
And the Motatapu River Track — a backcountry trail connecting Wanaka to Arrowtown. 2-3 days, hut-to-hut, through stunning river valleys and tussock ridges, with maybe 20 other hikers over the entire route. DOC huts cost NZD 15/night.
The honest answer is bittersweet: Wanaka is growing fast. Every year brings more cafes, more Airbnbs, more boots on Roy's Peak. It's still quieter than Queenstown, but the gap is narrowing.
The town is at its best in April-May — autumn, golden light, thin crowds — and October-November, when spring arrives with snow still on the peaks and lambing season in full swing. December-February is peak tourist season, and it can start to feel managed.
So come in the shoulder seasons. Walk the lake. Don't rush. That's the whole point of Wanaka.
