New Zealand day 4, Wānaka Tree & Roy’s Peak

 March 13, 2026

We started the morning with an incredible sunrise of pinks in the clouds were amazing 

We loaded up in the cars and drove to the town of Wanaka. We stopped to see the famous Wanaka tree. From where we parked, we walked past some incredible giant redwoods on the way to the beach, where the tree is located.. From where we parked, we walked past some incredible giant redwoods on the way to the beach, where the tree is located.

The Wānaka tree sits in a lake. Normally it is surrounded by water, but the level is low and it was dry enough to walk to its base. It was pretty cool looking sitting all by itself in the water, but it was smaller than I thought it would be.

Half of us loaded up and went to the Roy’s peak trailhead. This is an out and back hike 5 miles that is uphill the entire way gaining 4229 feet of elevation. It is tough, but the views are unparalleled!

The top is the pointed peak in the middle of the screen 

Midway up and the views just keep getting better

We stopped for lunch at a Vista point at the 4 mile mark

Occasionally, we passed sheep grazing alongside the trail.

  

The squiggly lines is the trail that winded the way up. 

After almost 5 hours of a grueling hike, we again loaded in the cars for a 1 Hour drive to Queenstown where we will stay for the next three days.