Wānaka has a habit of making you feel as if the world has been turned up a notch. What we call locally the ‘big skies’, and the varying blues of the glacial rivers and lakes settle a light on the landscape that photographers love and that’s best seen from a helicopter. The mountains look close […]
When winter comes to the Southern Alps, Wānaka transforms from lakeside retreat into alpine resort and the epicentre of New Zealand’s most accessible skiing. All being aligned on the weather front, from June through October visitors and locals alike trade the lake for the peaks. What sets Wānaka apart: you can ski New Zealand’s largest […]
If you are visiting New Zealand’s South Island from overseas, it’s understandable for you to have visions of lakes and mountains, hopes of spotting whales, dolphins and kea, and you’ll doubtless know many Marlborough sauvignon blanc brands. Central Otago is the bit that often surprises people, so much so it’s often missed entirely or just […]
Wānaka’s biggest advantage as a South Island base is not just what you can do lakeside, but what sits within day-trip range. Mount Aspiring National Park begins on Wānaka’s western edge and quickly turns into a landscape of long river valleys, waterfalls, glaciers, and beech and podocarp forest. Conditions can change quickly here, so a […]
If you have ever looked at a map of the South Island and wondered where the scenery turns from beautiful to completely unreal, the answer is the Southern Lakes. Queenstown might be the draw card that brings you to the Southern Lakes, but let it also be the launchpad for discovering what the locals commonly […]
On the shores of New Zealand’s fourth largest lake, surrounded by the Southern Alps and with a national park almost at the end of the street, Wānaka looks like a classic vacation town. In practice, it works far better as a base – somewhere you unpack once and then sprawl from the door into vineyards, […]
New Zealand’s South Island provides an exceptional winter playground that rivals the world’s most exclusive alpine destinations. Spring in the Southern Hemisphere – from September through November – presents discerning travellers with an extraordinary opportunity to experience premier skiing and snowboarding in one of the globe’s most spectacular settings. The South Island’s dramatic tapestry of […]