Lake Wakatipu and Glenorchy

Queenstown is probably the most well known holiday resort in New Zealand, especially for its winter skiing. However, apart from mentioning that it’s the centre of an exhaustive (and exhausting) list of sports activities in the summer, and that the (small) town is crammed full of hotels, bars, restaurants, people etc. etc.; I’ll move on to a surprisingly unknown alternative, only one hour’s drive from Queenstown, at the headwaters of Lake Wakatipu.

If you travel north-west out of Queenstown, 65km along the coast of the lake, you end up at the small settlement of Glenorchy. The last 50km of the winding gravel road make you feel really grateful when you’ve finally reached it! As a peaceful and scenic alternative to Queenstown, Glenorchy is highly recommended. It offers activities like pony-trekking, walking, canoeing, white water rafting on the Dart River, and the start of the Mount Aspiring National Park end of the Routeburn track for keen trampers.

Glenorchy itself consists of a couple of backpacking hostels, a cafe and bakery, three or four small hotels, and a few houses. Pre-booking at any of the accommodation is advised in high season (in both summer and winter), especially as the Queenstown hoteliers come here for quiet weekends! A hotel that seems both very comfortable and intimate is the Glen Roydon Lodge and Restaurant.

The scenery surrounding Glenorchy can best be described as similar to a valley in the Swiss Alps in summer, with the flat lakeside meadows surrounded on all sides by the snow-covered mountains of the national park, and the mouth of the Dart river flowing into the lake here as well. The minimal traffic, many outdoor activities which are not frenetic, and rural landscape are ideal for a peaceful and relaxing time. There’s even a daily bus to Queenstown if you want a change of pace.