I had some meetings in Queenstown in the middle of January and decided to take advantage of being in the area to explore some new trails. After a very grey summer in Christchurch, it was strange to get off the plane after less than an hour and feel like it was high summer.
After picking up a rental car, I took the Crown Range Road, that crosses the mountains between Queenstown and Wanaka. The road climbs steeply out of the Queenstown Valley up a road appropriately named ‘The Zig Zag’, but it was nice to be gaining altitude in the car, rather than on foot!
From the car park there was an easy walking track that continued to climb up to the ridge that forms the southern end of the Pisa Range. There were great views in all directions, and occasionally I was even able to look over at the planes on their final approach into Queenstown airport.
The summit of Rock Peak was a large flat area, and as the name suggests there were plenty of rocks to sit on and admire the views. I stopped for a while to have lunch and enjoy some time in the sunshine watching the light change over the tussock-covered hills.
The walk back to the car was quick and easy as the 4WD track felt like a much easier gradient when I was going downhill. I stopped for some groceries in town before driving out along Lake Wakatipu towards the small hamlet of Glenorchy.
After getting settled at my accommodation, I walked down to the lake as it was hard to stay indoors on such a beautiful afternoon. We have been to Glenorchy a few times, and it is noticeably busier each time we visit.
There were plenty of people taking advantage of the warm afternoon to hang out on the beaches and even brave swimming in the lake. Knowing how cold the water was, I wasn’t tempted to swim and instead wandered through the lagoon walkway just outside of town.
Despite how busy the town was, it didn’t take long to get away from the crowds and have the trails to myself. The trail winds through the wetlands and river beds at the head of Lake Wakatipu, occasionally there is a break in the vegetation which provides great views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. Having already done a number of hikes in the area it was fun to try and pick out places we had visited.
The trail looped back towards town, which was now significantly quieter after all the tour groups and day trippers had returned to Queenstown. I was keen to get back to my accommodation for dinner and an early night in preparation for a couple of days of longer day hikes that I had planned.