Arrowtown and Wanaka

Arrowtown's main street

View more photos 

After a beautiful morning in Queenstown we drove to Wanaka, passing through Arrowtown, a former gold rush settlement along the way. Arrowtown is on the tour-bus route from and to Queenstown as it is famous for its souvenir shops selling sheepskin, greenstone and gold. It is actually a really pretty place. Its permanent population is 1,200, but in summer it increases to 7,000!

Wanaka is situated at the point where the studded hills of Central Otago rub against the dramatic peaks of Mount Aspiring National Park. It is a beautiful spot on the shores of Lake Wanaka, with the summits of the Southern Alpes in the background. We checked into Matterhorn South, a minutes walk from the lake and walked around the town that day.

The next day we decided to explore Wanaka's surroundings and went for a walk up Mount Roy. This turned out to be a strenuous 16 km, 1100 m ascent, which took about 6 hours in total (3 up and 2 down). Whilst it was hard work getting to the top, the views were spectactular. From the 1578 m summit you could see the surrounding glaciers and Lake Wanaka. The 2 hr walk down the mountain was a struggle as well, but the jug of beer in Wanaka afterwards made us forget the pain..