By admin To recap, since Lindsay and Katz had joined me in New Zealand, we had spent a night in Auckland, a night in Blenheim and a night in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Now we had one more single night stay ahead of us: the picturesque mountain town of Wanaka, located on the serene lake of the same name. In case you’re wondering, Wanaka rhymes with “Hannukah;” we had started the trip mispronouncing the town’s name by emphasizing the second “a” instead of the first one. Don’t make the same ignorant mistake.
After an ambitious early morning consisting of two 5km hikes (the second of which was quite grueling and steep), we were eager to get to Wanaka for a celebratory drink. Lindsay had found a beautiful winery, Rippon, set on the lake, but it closed at 4pm, so we needed to hustle to arrive in time after the two-and-a-half hour drive from Aoraki/Mount Cook. While our drive to the national park had been slow and meandering, with plenty of stops for pictures, we were now on a mission.
Make that a mission doomed for failure. Once we reached an area with cell phone reception again, Lindsay called Rippon to ensure we’d be able to stop in for a tasting or a glass of wine. Unfortunately, they required reservations and were fully booked for the day. So much for that plan. Don’t make that mistake either! Plan ahead and go to Rippon– it looks beautiful.
On the bright side, Wanaka, like any decent mountain lake town, featured a bustling strip of restaurants and bars along the waterfront. Once we eventually reached the town, we spotted a reasonably nice-looking establishment, parked ourselves at a picnic table in the sun, and finally relaxed with a couple glasses of wine (me and Lindsay) and a beer (Katz). Still decked out in our hiking gear, we fit right in with the rest of the active crowd around us enjoying the warm holiday weather.
Next up: stop at our Airbnb condo for showers and laundry. Then, dinner at Kota, a restaurant featuring “international cuisine” and a small deck overlooking the lake. We had made the mistake of skipping lunch after our active morning and found ourselves ravenous by the time we sat down to eat. Fortunately, our server provided excellent hospitality, ensuring that we got our food and drinks quickly, and offering his own recommendations as we debated which hike we wanted to tackle the following morning.
Roy’s Peak vs. Isthmus Peak
Our original plan was to hike Roy’s Peak, the best-known track in Mount Aspiring National Park. The 9.7 mile out-and-back hike (4,104 feet climb) is famous for its viewpoint at the top, especially at sunrise and sunset. However, due to its fame, it can get crowded, and there are often queues at the viewpoint as hikers angle to get their Insta-friendly shots at the peak.
Isthmus Peak is similar in distance (9.9 miles out and back) and climb (3,717 feet). The views are known to be stunning all along the trail, and at the top, hikers are rewarded with a viewpoint of both Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea. Its big selling point over Roy’s Peak is that it is much less well-known, so crowds and queues aren’t a consideration. On the other hand. it doesn’t have the Insta-famous Roy’s Peak view, so if you’re deciding between the two tracks, it really depends on what is most important to you.
We ultimately decided to hike Isthmus Peak. The trail overall sounded more interesting to us, and we had no desire to wait in line or deal with crowds of people, especially given that we were traveling during peak holiday season, with no shortage of crowds.
Hiking Isthmus Peak
The drive from Wanaka to the Isthmus Peak trailhead takes approximately thirty minutes. Never ones to waste a minute (at least not so far on this trip), we woke up early so we could maximize the day. We estimated it would take up to five hours to do the hike, although we hoped to do it in less time. We had learned our lesson the previous day, and planned to stop back in Wanaka for lunch before embarking on the hour-long drive to Queenstown.
All in all, I very much enjoyed our Isthmus Peak hike, although it was long and draining, with relentless switchbacks. If I return to Wanaka and Mount Aspiring National Park in the future, I would most likely choose to do the Roy’s Peak hike for a different experience. For the time being, it was onward to Queenstown for a bit of a respite from our hectic travel schedule and ambitiously active days.
