Roys Peak

The weather was nice, and the sky was clear, so I decided to go a walk up Mount Roy.

The local iTAG Wanaka guide describes the walk as being moderate to hard and taking 5 – 6 hours. It describes it as “ A steady climbing track that rewards with panoramic views from the top. Most of Lake Wanaka can be seen, along with an awe-inspiring view of Mt Aspiring and the surrounding mountains and glaciers. The track is closed for lambing between October 1st and November 10th inclusive.” It also shows that Roys Peak is 1578 metres above sea level. Speaking of sea level – Lake Wanaka is the fourth largest lake in NZ, and at its deepest about 370 metres. Because Wanaka is about 310 metres above sea level the depths of the lake are below that.

Nobody else wanted to go for a walk, so I got Paula to drive me to the starting point, which was about 5 kms away from the where we were staying. It was around 12:30 pm, so I suggested that Paula come back to the car park at around 5:00 pm.

The walk started next to the Wanaka to Mt Aspiring Road and began to climb through paddocks with sheep grazing all around. The track was a car width wide with stiles to go over the fences. The higher you climbed, the more of Lake Wanaka that came into view. It wasn’t a hard climb, but it was constant. I decided to take some photos every 30 minutes. After an hour I was above some of the planes and helicopters that were flying to see the views of the lake and Mt Aspiring. There were a few times that, as I looked up to see how far there was still to go, I thought about turning around, but I wanted to get to the top and see the view.

After 2 hours of walking, I was getting a bit tired, but also every step I took was one less that I still had to take to get there. The views were amazing as Mt Aspiring came into view. I could also see pretty much all of Lake Wanaka. The trail kept going as it switchbacked upwards. People at the top still looked small, but I was closer to the top than the bottom, so I kept going.

I finally got to the top after about 3 hours of walking. The 360 degree view was fantastic. I finally got a chance to sit down, have a drink, something to eat and time to enjoy the view.

After 15 minutes it was time to head back down. It had taken 3 hours to get to the top, and with the time at the top. I had just over 1½ hrs to get down to the car park. On the way down I chatted with a couple from Cologne, Germany, who were spending 5 weeks travelling around in a campervan. At around 5:00 pm we were still a bit of a way above the car park and I saw what looked like our car drive in and head back to Wanaka. They then offered to drive me back to our accommodation. I was thankful because I didn’t want to walk all the way back. When I did get back I enjoyed some time soaking in the pool and some time in the steam room.