Welcome to Lake Wanaka
Spectacular mountain and lake views take your breath away when you visit Lake Wanaka. Located just north of Queenstown in New Zealand's Southern Lakes district, Lake Wanaka is an inspiring place of peace, tranquillity and beauty but has plenty of action if you need it!
Lake Wanaka is New Zealand's fourth largest lake where crystal clear blue waters reflect dramatic landscapes and the depths plunge below sea-level. Lake Wanaka is the gateway to the Mt. Aspiring National Park World Heritage area - internationally renowned for Mt. Aspiring, the glaciers and the Park's magnificent tramping and climbing. Lake Wanaka is home to some of the world's most beautiful tramping and hiking country, and possibly the best collection of half-day walks anywhere.
The variety of indoor and outdoor activities in Lake Wanaka is huge with choices to suit all tastes and budgets: Puzzling World & the Great Maze, the Transport Museum, heli mountain-biking, lake and river kayaking, golf, horse treks, rock climbing, paragliding, lake cruises, hunting, fishing, jet-boating, canyoning, wine tasting, beer tasting, rafting, quad-bike safaris, four wheel drive safaris, white water sledging, snowmobiles, movies, mountaineering and much more!
The Skyshow Centre offers tandem sky-diving; the largest collection of airworthy WW2 fighters in the southern hemisphere; the New Zealand Fighter Pilot's Museum; scenic flights to Milford Sound, Mt Cook, Mt Aspiring and the glaciers; and joy-rides - aerobatic, open cockpit, helicopter or the P51D Mustang (from the collection of airworthy WW2 fighter planes).
Lake Wanaka is a beautiful place to be at any time of the year. The rich golds and rusty hues of nature's colours in autumn; clear frosty nights with fresh white snow on the mountains in winter; the region blossoms with a riot of colour in spring and summer days are long, hot and dry with the fragrance of country grasses and wild herbs.
These mountains are home to internationally rated ski fields - Cardrona, Treble Cone, the Waiorau Nordic ski area, and the Harris Mountains Heli-skiing operation which is the largest of its type in the Southern Hemisphere.
Lake Wanaka is very accessible and is ideally situated as a base for exploration of Queenstown, Fiordland, Central Otago, the West Coast, Mt. Cook and for the rest of the Southern Lakes Region and Otago. There are scheduled coaches and shuttles to and from Lake Wanaka and flights link with major airline services in Queenstown.
Lake Wanaka and the surrounding area has a population of 3500 with the township being the service centre for the region. Shopping ranges from supermarket to souvenir with a good range in between. Services include banking, legal, medical, dental, pharmaceutical, photographic and automotive.Indulge in local and international cuisine at the numerous restaurants, cafes, taverns and bars. Take advantage of the opportunity to truly relax. Taste local wine at Rippon Vineyard or bask on the sunny beaches. Soak up the splendour with a sizzling lakeside barbecue and then watch the last light of a wonderful day fall across the lakes and mountains - then you'll know the inspiration and the feeling that can only be found in Lake Wanaka.