The adventure capital of New Zealand is not to be missed if you plan on plummeting 134 meters off the highest bungy in New Zealand. If jumping is not your thing, this area has loads of other fun stuff like rafting, mountain biking, and skiing in the winter, not the mention the incredible mountain views and street cafes. Wanaka also has some great outdoor experiences, as well as a mellow mountain-town feel.
Wanaka Highlights
Puzzling World - see www.puzzlingworld.co.nz
Outdoors activities-- everything from mountain biking to skiing, to canyoning .
Mount Aspiring National Park and Rob Roy glacier (just outside Wanaka).
EAT: -Kai whaka pai: This iconic Wanaka cafe serives up good coffee and food, including a good selection of different flavoured pies-try the banana cream pie - YUM! Open 7am-late, 7 days a week. Their location is great, just across the street from the lake, makes for all day sun. Find them on the corner of Ardmore & Helwick Sts. - Pesto. A good place to eat if you're in Arrowtown. They do pizza and pasta all served up in a nice atmosphere. They're at 18 Bukingham St, Arrowtown. - Ferg Burger. This burger joint is a must do while in Queenstown. The burgers are HUGE and really tasty. They will satisfy every inch of hunger after your days of adventuring. The Southern GOOT Girl recommends the "Holier than thou" - a tasty vegetarian option. Carnivors need not fret there's plenty of options for you too...If you can get your mouth around and finish "Mr Big Stuff" with its 1/2 lb beef pattie, you're doing well. Find them on Shotover St, Queenstown (the Fergburger website is particularly goot too and has a menu of what they serve up www.fergburger.com). - The Cow. This place comes highly recommended for its tasty pizza/pasta style menu and good atmosphere. Find them down Cow Lane, off Beach Street. - Joe's Garage Queenstown. If you went to Joe's in Christchurch and liked it, you'll like it here. This is the 'original' Joe's Garage and where the good coffee, good food and good music began. This one can be found down Searle Lane.
OUT AT NIGHT: If you want night life, it's not hard to find in Queenstown. It's always a friday night here and the ample supply of pubs and bars house everyone's preferred groove. Wander around and find a venue that suits you. One side of Church Street is lined with bars and restaurants, most with big outside courtyards. Others are all (like most things in Queenstown!) within walking distance.
Puzzling World is fun and the maze is challenging - see www.puzzlingworld.co.nz
There are lots of excellent organised activities including canyoning, kayaking, white water rafting and sledging, fishing, mountain biking, sky diving and skiing in winter.
Get amongst Mount Aspiring National Park. It takes about an hour to drive from Wanaka to the park but it is a local playground for Wanaka crew. There's all kinds of missions from day walks to demanding climbs and tramps. To get there from Wanaka, head West towards Glendhu Bay and follow the road to the park. You can also access the Park from Makarora between Haast and Wanaka.
Some recommended missions include:
- Rob Roy Glacier walk. This is a relatively easy track that will give you excellent views of the Rob Roy Glacier. it takes around 3 or 4 hours return. - West Matukituki Track. Stomp up to Aspiring Hut (it'll take about 2 hours to get there). This is a good base for other tracks that head off from the hut. The track to Casscade saddle joins up with the Rees-Dart Track, but you'd need experience in the mountains to get amongst this track.
Queenstown
The adventure capital of NZ has a lot to offer so it is worth spending a few days and nights here. The nightlife is pretty good too.
Bungy jumping – there are a number of options but if you are going to do one why not do the big one – the Ben Nevis jump at 134 metres is big, VERY BIG!
As well as bungy jumping there is sky diving with NZONE "The Ultimate Jump" - Tandem Skydive Queenstown, white water rafting and sledging, river boarding, jet boating on the famous Shotover River, parapenting, river safari, mountain biking, 4WD tours and skiing in winter. Wow!
There are some good walks and tramps in the area including the day-hike up Ben Lomond.
Wye Creek. A good hike starts at Wye Creek, however, it's also one of the best rock climbing spots in the region. Check out www.climb.co.nz for more climbing info.
Visit Paradise. Be one of not many people who can say they've actually been to Paradise. This spot is located towards the Western end of Lake Wakatipu. The drive around the lake towards Glenorchy and Paradise is stunning (takes around an hour). Glenorchy (and on a little bit) is where you head to start the Routeburn Track and Paradise to start the Rees-Dart. Both spots are beautiful in themselves, surrounded by huge mountains and cool scenery. Fill up with gas and food in Queenstown though as their ain't much when you get there! (though, this is part of the areas beauty!)
If you want a more substantial tramp, there's a few options in the area:
The famous walk in the region is the 3 day Routebrun Track. This is a stunning track that takes you over high passes from East Coast bush towards the more lush West Coast forest. It gives you amazing views and takes you past some great scenery. It takes 3 days, but can be done in two and, in fact, people run it in a day! You need to organise transport as it's a one-way trip, or, if there's lots of you and you have two cars, do the drive round to 'The Divide' on the Milford-Te Anau Road and leave one vehicle there. This track can be walked in either direction and you can get tickets from the DoC offices in either Queenstown or Te Anau. If starting from the Queenstown end, head towards Glenorchy and follow the signs to the start. This track gets heavy snowfall in the winter so isn't recommended during those months due to avalanche danger.
The Rees-Dart Track is also a goodin'. This hike takes you into Mount Aspiring National Park and will take 4-5 days to complete. It's described as a medium-hard track so best if you've got some time in the hills under your belt. It's a stunning track that has you stomping around Mount Earnslaw/Pikirakatahi, a beautiful snow and glacier covered mountain that's the second highest in the National Park. Check weather and snow staus before you head off as some creeks can become unpassable due to rain and lots of snow=avalanche danger on this track. To get to the start, head to Glenrochy then Rees Valley Rd to the carpark at Muddy Creek (to walk anti-clockwise) or head on from Paradise to do it clock-wise. Shuttles operate between the start/finish in the summer.
Two other tracks in the area are the Greenstone Caples and Mavora-Wakatipu Tracks. These both start from past Kinloch, on the other side of the lake to Glenorchy. They are good missions and link up to other spots-Greenstone Caples can link into the Routeburn for an extended trip and Mavora-Wakatipu takes you over towards Te Anau.
If you want to mellow out after all your missioning and adventuring, head out to historic Arrowtown. It's only about 20minutes drive from Queenstown and has a small-town, quiet, relaxed feel. There's an excellent lollie (candy) shop, some souvenir shops, good cafes and restaurants and a few other bits and bobs - you can even go gold panning if it takes your fancy!
Note: from Queenstown, those with less time should head back to Christchurch - but, if you're lucky enough to have more time, consider carrying on...
NORTH: From Queenstown take the more scenic route over the Crown Range to Wanaka and back North (if you do head this way, be sure to stop in at the iconic Cardrona Pub for a Speights - this will also earn you points in the GOOT Game!). Follow Highway 8 towards Christchurch and it will take you via Mount Cook (you need to head up another road to actually get to Mount Cook) and Tekapo. Your other option for getting back North is to head East first....
EAST: From Queenstown, head through the Gibston Valley (another great grape growing and wine creating region!) and on to Cromwell. If it's summer, pick up some fresh fruit for the journey home and take a photo by the giant fruit on the main road past the town (you can't miss it!). From here, head along Highway 8 and then 83 at Omarama. This will take you out to the East Coast fro where you can head either North towards Christchurch or South towards Dunedin and the Caitlans. Another option is to head through the very scenic Central Otago region. At Cromwell, head towards Alexandra and follow Highway 85 through Ranfurly and out to the coast. The small townships and hills that line this road are very cool and worth exploring if you have time.
SOUTH: From Queenstown, follow Highway 6 around the lake to Kingston (be sure to shout out 'whhhhhy?!?!' as you cross Wye Creek, not far along the lake-it's a local tradition). Keep going to get to Southland and in the right direction to get to Stewart Island.
WEST: To get out West towards Te Anau and Fiordland, take the same route as if you were heading South, only turn off at Five Rivers (which hosts a nice cafe for coffee and kai) and follow the road all the way to Te Anau. You'll pass the Mavora Lakes access point not far from Te Anau which is where the track starts/finishes and is also a beautiful spot to camp if you don't need to be in town.
The best meal of my life was at a place called Botswana Butchery, but it was really expensive and I only went cause my parents were here
Posted 2010-04-28 11:30:36
4. Queenstown! Dave Flaxer (BU), Unregistered
Queenstown is a haven for adrenaline seekers and partygoers in a picture perfect setting!
Posted 2010-04-28 11:28:42
3. Wanaka not like nost NZ towns Raquel Hakin (Rollins), Unregistered
Wanaka was lovely. It’s a little ski resort town. It wasn’t like most towns with one street. It was hilly and had hidden restaurants around the corner. It had a really different feel to it.
Posted 2009-05-28 09:57:16
2. Little Paradise Lodge like a fairy-tale Allison Young (UNC Chapel Hill), Unregistered
Little Paradise is a cabin-like accommodation just outside Queenstown on the way to Glenorchy. It’s double the price of a hostel but it’s worth the splurge because it’s a fairy-tale. It’s beautiful and so remote and it’s an extremely unique experience. The guy who built it created it himself and it speaks about the unique relationship NZ has with the rest of the world. His cabin is the same distance from the equator as the South Pole.
Posted 2009-05-28 09:41:06
1. Hang Gliding like Peter Pan Katherine King (BU), Unregistered
I went hang gliding in Queenstown and the view was gorgeous. It was an adrenaline rush—like Peter Pan or Superman.
