NEW ZEALAND | HIKE
ROB ROY GLACIER
ROB ROY GLACIER
WANAKA
SOUTH ISLAND, NZ
No dogs
DISTANCE
6.2 miles
9.9 km
ELEVATION
1,505.9 ft
459 m
TIME
3-4 hours
DIFFICULTY
Moderate, Steady Climb
SKILL
Beginner
TYPE
Out-and-back
RECAP
A "must do" New Zealand hike. Steady climb that gets your heart pumping with a gorgeous shaded forest path and epic views that keep a smile on your face. Intense drive on rough, unpaved roads to get there, but very much worth it if you have the guts/durable vehicle to handle it. Entire hike is pretty, with beautiful flora, views of the river and surrounding mountains throughout. Ends with an incredible view of the glacier with multiple waterfalls.
TIPS
From the Department of Conversation: "The track starts at the Raspberry Creek car park, 54 km west of Wanaka on the Wanaka-Mount Aspiring Road. The last 30 km are unsealed. The last 10 km is a fine weather road only and subject to washouts and flooded creeks that can be impassable – check road conditions before you leave. The drive takes about an hour. Transport services from Wanaka to the car park are available."
This trail crosses private farm land with plenty of cute sheep and cows to see. Be respectful and keep to the path.
The afternoon sun goes right behind the Glacier. For the best photo views I would start before 12pm or after 3pm to not have the sun directly in frame.
This area is prone to avalanches, especially from May - November. Always check the Department of Conservation website before going for trail hazards or restrictions.
JUST A TASTE
OVERVIEW
THE FULL POUR
BLOG
Rolling into Wanaka, I had heard (read online) that there were two big trails that people take when they visit this area: Rob Roy Glacier and Roy’s Peak. I was on the fence about Roy’s Peak (read more about that hot mess here) but Rob Roy Glacier hike sounded perfect. 3 hours, through a forest, amazing views of the glacier and waterfalls: “A MUST DO” digitally shouts RonSmith05. I hear you Ron, loud and clear- I’m on my way.
DRIVING TO WANAKA
I did take a slight detour to the Wanaka Lavender Farm because it just looked adorable and it was on the way. It was $5 to just walk around (hey, I get it. Lavender doesn’t grow on trees. It grows on bushes, and you should charge people to look at it because this is America. This is New Zealand. I digress), but it was a pleasant visit. The gift shop would break Pinterest because it was so cute with its wooden displays of lavender products, the dried lavender hanging from the door, the rustic stone walls. I’m moving in there next month, actually. I’m sure it’s fine.
They also had some alpacas which I think are furry dinosaurs and I don’t know why everyone isn’t talking about this.
WANAKA LAVENDER FARM WAS A FUN LITTLE DETOUR
So after the stop at the little slice of purple heaven, I got back on the road to Mount Aspiring National Park and Rob Roy’s Glacier. TripAdvisor had warned me that the last 45 minutes or so of the drive were some very rough unpaved gravel roads, and they were not lying. My poor rental car, which was already one pothole away from turning into a Flinestone vehicle, was just demolished for 30km of country road, taking us home to the place I belong- the trailhead. I pulled over several times so the old Mazda could catch her breath, and to take pictures of the hundreds of sheep and cows lining the road, mountains casually hanging out in the background. Almost 4 weeks in New Zealand and no, I am still not over the abundance of livestock and the freakish landscape.
THIS ROAD GRAVEL ROAD TO THE TRAILHEAD WAS AN ADVENTURE IN ITSELF
I finally made it, or I thought I had made it, but I had just arrived at the final stretch of unpaved madness where they let rivers run through the road and you just have to barrel through them, screaming and begging your car to not drown. I actually pulled over first and thought about not going. This is stupid, this car can’t make it through water, don’t do this, I said to myself. But as I tend to do, I saw a few other idiots keep going right through the first ford with their janky rental car and said (out loud, unfortunately), “Well I’ll be damned if those assholes get to do this and I don’t.” And with that sweet energy put out into the world, I thrust my car into drive and screamed until I had made it to the other side of the water. It was pretty shallow, but still. What a THRILL! Only 8 more fords to go and I was there!
THE "OREGON TRAIL" GAME PREPARED FOR THIS MOMENT. THANKFULLY I MADE IT. WITHOUT DYSENTERY EVEN!
I did make it finally, giving my little car a love tap on the trunk to show my appreciation for its bravery before I walked out to the trail. This one starts out by walking through a working farm, passing right by some shitting cows and nervous sheep. Cuties.
THIS GUY IS LIVING MY DREAM LIFE
You walk alongside a fast moving, clear blue river, then over a swinging bridge (I’m screaming again) and into the forest, which they call “the bush...” But on this blog, this will only be called the forest. Cool?
There were a few steep sections that definitely got your breath quickened, but it was a mostly steady climb uphill for about and hour and half, full shaded under the gorgeous canopy of trees (very ideal if you are also translucent and get sunburnt just walking to your car in the morning). To your left you could see the river again, carving out the bottom of a view steep valley, the tops of the surrounding mountains visible through the trees. You could also see right ahead of you, way up high, the soaring peak and glacier that this hike was named after. I kept stopping to take pictures, but knew that it would only get better the closer I got.
HOW RIDICULOUS IS THIS?
One thing about me and hiking which you will soon understand is that I really enjoy being by myself in nature. If I am not hiking with a friend, I want to be alone, alone. I don’t like having people pass me or being stuck behind someone else or having to hear other people’s conversations or (heaven forbid) the music they play out loud on a speaker they are carrying. (Please don’t do this. If you have done it, I forgive you. But no.) I just really enjoy getting into a groove when I hike, listening to the birds or the river, thinking whatever random thoughts come into my head, being inspired and grateful for the beauty around me. And as “zen-like” as I can be, it seems fair to say that having to jockey around strangers can be kind of a buzzkill.
For the most part, New Zealand’s trails have been either completely or almost completely empty of people. There have been a few crowded ones (I’ll get to that in another post), and the Rob Roy Glacier trail wasn’t even that busy at all. (I started around 1pm by the way.) I did keep ended up nearby these two daughters and their mother. I would stop and take a picture and they would pass me, then I would catch up to them and pass them, and vice versa.
I happened to be behind them when the mom stopped dead in her tracks, the two daughters and me almost running into her because she stopped so suddenly. And then she started yelling “Oh my God! Oh my God! Wow. Oh WOW.” I was worried she was hurt or something and then one of the daughters asked “Mom, are you just now seeing the glacier?” “YES!” She yelled, “Oh my goodness that’s so pretty!” They other daughter (and me, I’m a part of this stranger's family now) were bewildered. “Mom, what?? That has been there almost this whole time. How did you not see it?” I said. (Kidding, kidding. She’s not my mom. YET!) The real daughter said that, confusedly. The other one answered for her: “She was looking down at her feet the whole time because she was scared she would trip.”
I smiled a little as I stepped around my new family, laughing thinking that I could imagine my own real mother saying the same thing. And then getting the feeling that this moment was trying to tell me something about myself as well. I wonder how many times in life there are things right in front of me that I don’t see because I’m too busy looking down, worried I'm going to fail. And how much more enjoyable the hike of life would be if you could see the beautiful big picture ahead of you instead of just focusing on the little steps to get there. Of course there are times where you have to look down, where you need to concentrate on getting through a rocky patch. But keep that head up momma, it’s a beautiful journey.
THANKFUL FOR THIS VIEW & THE LESSON IT TAUGHT ME
The end of the hike gave you an incredible view of a huge waterfall, the giant glacier and the massive wall of rock around it, with little waterfalls popping up across it. It was one of those sights that even when you are standing there looking at it with your own two eyes you can hardly compute its magnitude and beauty. And your iPhone sure as hell isn’t going to fully capture it either, so you try to burn the image into your brain so you never forget how incredible this planet is.
After an easy walk mostly downhill back to the carpark, I felt like I had gotten a perfect hike in: a good workout but not too painful, a humbling experience in an incredible natural setting, and a little nugget of metaphor to chew on as I drove back out down that ridiculous road. So, so sorry, rental car.