WILD about Wanaka WILD about Wanaka
MARY LAMBIE TAKES HER INTREPID KIDS ON A CENTRAL OTAGO ADVENTURE
There comes a time, as a parent, when your children become fitter, stronger, faster and far less fearless than yourself. On a family trip to Wanaka in Central Otago, I realised we have reached that milestone with our kids, a 14-year-old and the twins, who are now 12.
Their thirst for adventure became apparent when they were compiling the list of the things they wanted to do while in Wanaka – and the tiny town delivered in spades.
New to the adventure tourism scene is Wild Wire Wanaka. This group of seasoned climbers have secured the use of land that is home to the stunning Twin Falls waterfall (by Treble Cone), which is about a 15-minute drive from Wanaka township. The system they use for their waterfall climb is called “via ferrata” and involves manoeuvring up ladder rungs that have been securely hammered into the rock.
I was scared witless as Laurel guided us up the rock face, but my kids bounded up – regularly looking down at the fresh air under their feet and freely swinging, having full faith in the safety equipment we were attached to. It was great fun.
The sense of achievement, overcoming some of my fear of heights, plus enjoying the views at the top, made this a standout experience.
Costing nothing but our time and energy was the climb up Mt Roy. It’s popular, thanks to social media, and is a beast of a hill. At a reasonable clip, it took me two and a half hours to reach the 1500m top, where the air was thin, but the views over Lake Wanaka and Mt Aspiring National Park were magnificent.
Most of the walkers (and runners!) were young 20something travellers – some of whom had set out at 3am to catch the sunrise at the top.
The track isn’t difficult – it’s just long and zig-zaggy. Take your time – my kids coped admirably, with the eldest beating me to the top by 20 minutes.
For a less arduous walk, try Mt Iron track, which still gives great views of Wanaka, Albert Town and Hawea. It’s a stone’s throw from the centre of town and can be done and dusted in an hour.
We visited Wanaka in April, which afforded us the beauty of autumnal colours, plus endless, perfectly windless days.
Tim Cuthbertson, from Wanaka Lake Cruises, drew my attention to the calm of the season when he took us out in his catamaran to the island on the lake, on the island on the lake, on the island on the sea. Yes, you read that right – Mou Waho Island is about a one-hour trip on the lake. Once there, you are offloaded and Tim guides you up the track to view a lake, which is situated on top of the island. Keeping you company are the friendly, flightless Buff weka, who will have a good poke around your lunch if you give them half a chance. It was a wonderful half-day trip.
There are dozens of cycle trails around Wanaka catering to all abilities. We hired some flash mountain bikes from Outside Sports and whizzed around the lake, over to Hawea and Albert Town, through the stunning autumnal scenery on mainly flat and fast tracks. If you want a real challenge, try biking around the neighbouring Lake Hawea.
After each day’s activities, we retired to our perfectly located, three-bedroom apartment at Alpine Resort in Anderson Road. It had all the home comforts, loads of room, an excellent kitchen and a big spa for us all to rest our weary bones!