Since Milford sound is as far north as you can go in Fiordland, we made a loop back around inland to get to Queenstown. The drive went through wide valleys and more mountains. As we got closer to Queenstown, the road hugged the rugged shoreline of Lake Wakatipu – New Zealand’s longest lake at 50 miles.
Queenstown is a quintessential resort town nestled in mountains with the bonus of being on a lake. There are ski resorts nearby and lots of hiking, biking, boating and other outdoor activities. It was smaller than we expected at just 16,000 people. Since so many people fly into the city, we thought it would be larger. The downtown area along the beach is actually quite compact, with a cluster of shops, restaurants and pubs. They also have a botanical garden on a peninsula that juts out into the lake. The highlight for us was discovering the giant sequoia trees (Sequoiadendron Giganteum Wellingtonia, per Sophie’s note in case she tries growing one). Even though they are not native, and were only planted just over 100 years ago – they were massive. Apparently, they thrive in the climate around Queenstown.
After one night in Queenstown, we headed deeper into the mountains. Our first stop was at an historic mining town called Arrowtown. Their downtown streets were lined with historic buildings that were now shops and restaurants. We did a little shopping, then hit the road again.
A little bit outside of Arrowtown, our GPS told us to turn left, and the sign confirmed this was the way to Wanaka (via Crown Range Pass in smaller letters). As I turned onto the road (with our camper in tow) I immediately saw on the navigation a ton of switchbacks ahead. Then, we saw a helpful sign along the side of the road that said “No Vehicles with Trailers”. It would have been nice if that sign was shown before the turn as now I was already on my way uphill and there were no places to turn around. So, ahead we went! Luckily, our camper was pretty light and our Toyota Highlander had no problems pulling it up the hills and around the many tight switchbacks. We stopped at one of the overlooks and some people were quite surprised to see our trailer in tow. It made us a little nervous as there were still 50 miles to go through the pass, but it really wasn’t too bad. We kept up with traffic fine – and despite some white knuckles and an anxious Sophie, we made it to Wanaka all in one piece – and about 20 minutes earlier than if we had taken the other route. And we also passed by the unusual Cardrona bra fence.
Wanaka, like Queenstown, is on a large lake (Lake Wānaka) and is surrounded by mountains. It also has a resort feel and is close to ski stations. This lake is also famous for #ThatWānakaTree which is growing off the shore in the water.
To get a better look at the rugged mountain range, Sophie and I decided to challenge ourselves on a hike up one of the nearby mountain summits. We hiked the Roy’s Peak Track. Roy’s Peak is 5177 feet high. The elevation climb from the base to the summit is 4028 feet, which is the most we have ever tackled. The trek took us around six hours total, but that included many picture stops as well as a stop for a picnic lunch. Our iPhones said we climbed the equivalent of 328 floors and walked over 13 miles. The trail wasn’t very technical, it was just a continuous slog up a long, windy series of switchbacks, crossing paddocks at the beginning, then alpine tussock. Afterwards, a continuous slog back down! Going down was almost harder on our legs than going up. By the end, our legs and knees were starting to complain. The views of the surrounding mountains (including Mount Aspiring/Tititea), Lake Wānaka and valleys, however, made it all worth it.
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