After our epic hike and climb through the Matukituki River valley to French Ridge Hut the previous days, we were looking for a slightly more relaxed end to our trip to Wanaka. After a leisurely start and a stop in town for brunch, we decided that our legs were up for another hike. We thought that it would be a great chance to hike Roy’s Peak. We have often passed the trailhead to this hike which has become incredibly popular thanks to the stunning views which make for regular Instagram posts.
With the closed borders limiting the number of tourists, we were happy to see that the car park was almost empty when we arrived. The track was a steady climb up a well-formed farm track. As we zig-zagged up the hillside, the views across Lake Wanaka were a constant distraction, getting better and better as we climbed towards the peak.
The track continued to climb steadily until we reached the popular photographic promontory. As we made our way along the track we were able to pick out places we recognised including the Matukituki Valley where we hiked the previous day and Diamond Lake where we had visited some time ago.
Deciding that we didn’t need to make the extra climb to the summit of Roy’s Peak, we made our way back down the hill and into town for a late lunch and ice cream.
The next morning we needed to head back to Christchurch, but stopped at Iron Mountain on our way out of Wanaka to stretch our legs on the loop track before sitting in the car.
Despite being more of a small hill than a mountain, the clear morning skies meant that we had great views in all directions from the top.
On one side we could pick out the familiar places around Wanaka and Lake Wanaka, and in the opposite direction lay the Clutha River Valley. The beautiful valley looked like somewhere we will need to explore in the future.
After stopping at a tiny French bakery for some treats for a picnic lunch we got on the road back home. Driving back through the Mackenzie Basin the fresh glacier melt combined with the bright sunshine made Lake Pukaki look an almost unnatural shade of turquoise and gave us some of the best views we had seen of Aoraki Mount Cook in the distance. Not a bad end to our first adventure back into the mountains.