NEW ZEALAND | HIKE
ROY'S PEAK
ROY'S PEAK
WANAKA
SOUTH ISLAND, NZ
No dogs
DISTANCE
9.9 miles
16 km
ELEVATION
4,028.8 ft
1,228 m
TIME
5-7 hours
DIFFICULTY
Challenging,
Steep
SKILL
Beginner
TYPE
Out-and-back
RECAP
One of NZ's most Instagrammed day hikes, and for good reason. Climb 1,228 meters up on a switchback trail with a steady incline through farmland full of sheep before reaching the rocky peak looking out over an epic view of Lake Wanaka and Mount Aspiring National Park. Totally breathtaking hike, in every way. Took around 6 hours: 2.5 hours up, 2.5 hours down taking lots of pictures, with about an hour of freezing beautifulness at the top.
TIPS
Challenging climb up. I strongly recommend starting before sunrise both for the amazing view and the benefit of not knowing how much higher you have to go on the way up. Flashlight or headlight mandatory because it is totally pitch black for several hours. Start 2-3 hours before sunrise to be at the summit for your money shot.
Definitely bring layers: I was pouring sweat the first two hours and then it started to snow. It would not have been possible to enjoy the view/survive without gloves and a hat.
It is a long way down if you have knee issues. I would not recommend this hike unless you are in fairly decent shape or are willing to go very slow- otherwise it would be pretty brutal.
The track is closed for lambing from October 1 - November 10 each year. Always check the Department of Conservation website before going for trail hazards or restrictions.
JUST A TASTE
OVERVIEW
THE FULL POUR
BLOG
SHIPPING CONTAINER AIRBNB WITH A DOPE VIEW
On my last night in Wanaka, I laid in bed debating this Roy’s Peak again: Should I do it in the morning on my way out of town? Seemed like a lot. Should I do it at sunrise like some people online suggested? That just seemed crazy! I would have to wake up at like 4am to make sure I get to the peak by sunrise!
But as the hours ticked on to the next calendar day and I lay wide awake, it was as if my body knew I would regret missing out on this one. Turns out it's pretty easy to wake up at 4am if you never go to sleep. So I packed up and drove about 30 minutes to the trailhead, picking up some hitchhikers along the way (sorry Mom, they looked super innocent). Having never picked up anyone on the side of the road, shockingly, I wasn’t sure how to roll down my window and not sound like a huge creep when I said “Y’all need a ride?”
HITCHHIKING IS TOTALLY COOL IN NEW ZEALAND. THIS IS ME, PRETENDING TO BE COOL
They didn’t seem too freaked out though and hopped in, timidly pushing aside my piles of garbage, wine bottles, loose shoes, and a few foul smelling socks. But they accepted my nervous apologies, and I attempted conversation best I could for 1) Getting no sleep 2) Having not really spoken to many people in weeks and 3) Just my overarching awkward manor of being. They were a newly formed friend group consisting of a Scot, a Brit, and a Swede, all fresh-faced and brave the way you are in your early 20s before you get kicked off your parent's health care and your heart gets broken in a million pieces by the general lack of empathy in the world and someone you thought was your soul mate. (Am I projecting?)
TOWN OF WANAKA IN THE DISTANCE. NOT PICTURED: THE INCREDIBLE STARS AT 4:30am
Not sure if it was just because they were warmed up from already walking, if they were desperate to get away from me and my trash-mobile, or if I’m really slowing down as I age (or some kind of combination of all three), but when we got to the trail they took off at what felt like a sprint. I tried to keep up for a few minutes, huffing and puffing some small talk, before telling them to go ahead. “I’m old.” They stopped. "It's so dark, we haven't even seen your face. How old are you?" the guy asked, cautiously squinting at me in the dark like he was afraid of the decrepit monster that just gave him a ride. "Well, just 28," I laughed. "Oh. Sorry," he replied, "Good luck!" He turned and ran after the girls who had already taken off in disgust, as if my quarter-life crisis was contagious.
“Slow and steady wins the race,” I shouted after them, almost as if I needed to prove my advanced age with grandfatherly colloquialisms. They bounded ahead, and I just kept going up a steep incline one little step at a time, using my phone flashlight and bitterness to light my way.
A CLASSIC TORTOISE AND THE HARE SITUATION
I had never hiked in complete darkness before, with a sky full of stars and the Milky Way providing no helpful light, but a very awe-inspiring setting. If I looked up to what I assumed was the side of the mountain (it was SO dark), I could see a few other flashlights dotted at varying levels of height, comforting me that there were at least some other psychopaths out here determined to get those damn sunrise Instagram pictures.
FIRST SIGN OF LIGHT AT 6:22AM - GETTING CLOSER TO THE PEAK AFTER 2 HOURS OF CLIMBING
Triumphantly, I caught up to the two hitchhiking girls a few minutes later as they were taking off some of their layers. Despite it being only about 50 degrees, we were all sweating at this point. I nodded politely as I passed them and kept pumping my arms and breathing loudly like any self respecting middle-aged mall-walker would. By this time, my inner competitive bitch had completely woken up and I was determined to not let these gals overtake me again.
I typically never put in my headphones on a hike, but hours of listening to my own heavy wheezing paired with random rustlings in the dark grass around me (“It’s just a sheep, it’s just a sheep...”) just didn’t sound like fun. So with my “Bootcamp” playlist bumping in my ears, I kicked it into maximum overdrive and got in a great rhythm, not only staying in front of my “friends,” but passing a few other groups too. I hate how much I love that feeling.
POSTED BY u/MattBootyBulan ON REDDIT
The air was getting colder and colder the higher I climbed, which was fine because I was basically going on hour #2 of a StairMaster and the briskness was refreshing. I was glad I decided to start so early because when you are going uphill the dark you really have no idea how much farther you have to go or how far you’ve gone. All you know is you aren’t there yet, so just keep going.
I did get slightly concerned that I might be pushing myself too hard after no sleep, an Adderall (I have a legitimate prescription, RELAX), and probably some residual wine juice soaked into my organs from the previous day of tastings. I tried to tell myself to stop being so competitive, to stop turning around to see if any of the other small dots of light were getting any closer to me. I was hit with a convicting metaphor here: "Focus on YOUR life Alex, stop comparing yourself to others," I said this over and over again in my head as light began peeping up on the horizon, revealing the rocky outline of the mountain we were all climbing together.
LAYERS ARE KEY! THE TEMPERATURE HAD DROPPED ABOUT 40 DEGREES AT THE TOP
I didn’t slow down, but I did appreciate the lesson from the universe to stop treating everything as a competition. But... I was so close to “winning” this morning, I wasn’t going to stop now. What are you, insane?
A light freezing rainy/snowy mix started to fall the last kilometer, making the steeply inclined trail a tad slippery, which was perfect because I could now see how high up I was and my fear of heights was coming out to say hello. But I eventually reached the summit as the sun started creep up over the ridge, gasping from the beauty and the frigid air. I stood there with about 20 other nut-jobs, all shivering and laughing over how beautiful this view was over Lake Wanaka with the mountains of Mount Aspiring National Park around it.
OH, SO THAT'S WHAT WAS HIDING IN THE DARK. NOT TOO SHABBY!
Suddenly, I remembered that I had packed a bottle of Ash Ridge 2016 Premium Syrah in my backpack with hopes of taking some epic pics. I used the three fingers that still had feeling in them to pry it out of my backpack and pop it down on the snowflake dusted ground. I heard a few people giggling at me as I took some pictures. “She has a bottle of wine.” Yes, yes she does, thank you Susan for your insightful observations. But, in the spirit of “Maybe I should try to make some friends while I’m here?” I turned around and asked everyone/no one if they would have a sip if I opened up this bad boy. (Note to self: don’t refer to things as “bad boys” in public).
SYRAH AT 7:00AM, THAT'S WHAT I ALWAYS SAY
I thought some people said yes, but I couldn’t really hear because of the wind and impending hyperthermia that was setting in. I opened it up and took a swig out of the bottle that I was originally planning on aging for another 5-10 years, and then passed it around. The people loved it. And by "the people", I mean the 4 people that were standing closest to me, including my hitchhiking friends/foes. “Well, well, well, fancy meeting you guys here!” (Dammit why can't I act cool for two seconds?)
The rest of the people didn’t make eye contact.
YOU LOOK GOOD UP HERE, ASH RIDGE
We laughed and took selfies, drinking straight from the bottle with the sky lighting up all kinds of orange and pink behind us, the mountains and water and our lips varying shades of blue. “That’s really good wine!” someone said in a British accent. “Thank you so much,” I said, like I had made it, rather than stuck it in some bubble wrap and walked it uphill just so I could take pictures with it. But it truly is a delicious wine: light bodied but with fine tannins, spice and dark berries on the nose, smooth fruit and toasty/smokey oak on the palate. Read my wine review here.
PEOPLE RUNNING AWAY FROM THE CRAZY GIRL DRINKING AT DAWN. FAIR.
The crowd started to die down. I think their bodies were actually physically dying from the intense cold, so people started making their way off the peak in order to save themselves. I do highly recommend doing this hike at sunrise, but just be prepared to pour sweat and then stand in the cold wind (and potentially even snow) at the top. So you better layer up like a bean dip casserole at a suburban Bunco party: 7 layers, at LEAST.
MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT HAVE HAD A BABY SIMBA MOMENT WITH THE BOTTLE OF WINE HERE
But as I turned to get down off the top summit, I slipped, falling backwards and hitting my hip on some scraggly rocks before sliding downhill a few feet on my back, head first. Everyone stopped and looked at me. I can only imagine their thoughts after seeing the girl who hiked with wine to drink at sunrise, fall on her ass. A few people asked if I was okay. I was, but it did really hurt, and I was pretty embarrassed. I wonder how old you have to get before you stop immediately tearing up out of public embarrassment just like you did when you were in 8th grade and air-balled a three point shot and hit a cheerleader under the basket who happened to be the actor Jennifer Lawrence who went to your middle school. (Am I projecting again?)
THAT FIRST LIGHT OF DAY SHINING ON THIS VIEW IS SO WORTH THE EARLY START
By the time I had ungracefully wobbled myself up and shouted "Oh no, the wine! I hope it didn't break!" (not helping the public opinion of me here), my “buddies” were already heading down the trail. Cool cool cool, I’ll see you guys down there! I'm fine! So is the wine!
It ended up working well though because in those few minutes when I gathered my strength and my pride, the sun REALLY came out. The colors reflecting off the clouds were unlike anything I’ve ever seen and the view went from gorgeous to ridiculously awesome. Slow and steady wins the mother-effing race, ladies, how many times do I have to tell you this??
I WALKED DOWN WITH AN ODD MIX OF SMUGNESS AND SHAME. AND A FEW BRUISES
The hike down was fine- it was an awesome view, but I could see where the online trolls complained. It took about 3 hours of pounding knee pressure to get all the way down, and it IS just switchbacks the whole way, so you are just seeing the same (although awesome) view over and over again. I stopped for some more pictures at the lower lookout point, which apparently has a long line later in the day with everyone trying to take their next profile picture (another reason to go early). AND I stopped at this porta potty, which I would never feel the need to mention except I think this has to be one of the most prime location porta potties in the world, right?
Once I finally made it all the way down, I felt really glad I wasn’t one of the people now looking miserable on their way up. I finally warmed back my internal temperature to a stable level, taking my gloves off to find out that my hand was bleeding from my little tumble. It’s fine, it was worth it. Despite disturbing my fellow hikers with my brazen embrace of drinking at dawn and my weird "lone wolf" vibes, I felt proud of myself for going for it, and I felt very alive.
And would you look at that- it’s 11:00am and Rippon Winery down the road is now open. I think it is time for some more wine, don’t you? Read more about that humbling visit here.
EVERYONE'S BUMBLE PROFILE PIC. INCLUDING MINE.
THINGS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE TRAIL THAT I MISSED IN THE DARK
I had gone back and forth for a long time about when and even if I wanted to do Roy’s Peak. With two and half days to spend in the Wanaka region, I had a few options of different hikes/wine tasting adventures to do with Roy’s Peak being one of them. But the reviews on TripAdvisor actually had me “trippin” – there were people saying it was “miserable,” that basically it was pretty view but three lung-torching hours up and three knee-grinding hours down, all with the same view. Call me crazy, I just wasn’t sprinting to the trailhead.
So I decided to do the Rob Roy Glacier trail on the first day (which was amazing, read that post here). The next day I did some wine tasting at the nearby Central Otago wineries (more about those coming soon) and enjoyed a stormy evening in my Airbnb bed looking out over the mountains as the rain poured down the glass wall.