{"id":2375,"date":"2019-12-02T19:26:32","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T00:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peterdittman.com\/weblog\/?p=2375"},"modified":"2025-08-01T08:57:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T12:57:25","slug":"roys-peak-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peterdittman.com\/weblog\/roys-peak-track\/","title":{"rendered":"Roy’s Peak Track"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This hike got all sorts of rave reviews in AllTrails and the other hiking apps. Part of the appeal was the switch-backs – while a bit on the boring side, it tends to diminish the steep elevation gains. A bit plus for this hike, while completely exposed, it promised some amazing views AND the closeness of Wanaka provided a bit of an after-hike “reward”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early research showed this was another track with some stunning photos \u2013 listed as one of the best day hikes.    Located only about an hour north of Queenstown, just outside of Wanaka, this would be our first significant drive on the left-hand side of the road \u2013 and our first venture out into the country-side. We were blessed with another day of cloudless skies and moderate (70\u2019s) temperatures.  As we\u2019d come to learn , our first few days in New Zealand were somewhat exceptional \u2013 rain comes often to the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We set out early and found our way to the trailhead parking by 9am \u2013 already nearly full.  We got lucky. On paper, the trail looked simple enough \u2013 lots of switch-backs \u2013 but basically straight up hill. By the numbers,  it was a fairly significant trek \u2013 5hrs round trip, 10.2 miles, and 4,200 feet of elevation gain.  Definitely worth it, and one of the best we\u2019ve ever done.  The pictures below really tell the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roy’s Peak remains one of our top hikes – for the views, for the relative ease, and yes, for the opportunity to enjoy some refreshments after the hike.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Gearing up, we headed off, looking upward toward a ridge \u2013 it was difficult for us to identify which was Roy\u2019s peak, though we could definitely see bits of the trail leading up hill.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Looking uphill, Roy\u2019s Peak is somewhere up there!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The trail was wide, and the going was easy, though it was a steady uphill.  After a short while, we stopped for a bit, shed some of the early-hike clothing, and begin to admire the views.  It was still relatively early, but the cloudless skies, just make it amazing.   Here, we look down on the parking area \u2013 completely full at this point \u2013 and off in the distance to Wanaka.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Further up the trail, we passed through some sheep pastures \u2013 up close and personal with some of \u201cthe locals\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n

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As we picked up more elevation, the views just kept improving.  Below, we\u2019re looking out a short trail out to a height of land.<\/p>\n\n\n

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This is one of those hikes \u2013 where it was just view after view \u2013 so much so, that it was slow going up the mountain.  Stop, look around, go.  Stop, look around, go.  and again, and again.  In the pix below, we\u2019re just below the summit, the earlier lookout behind me in the distance, and much further down, you can just barely make out some of the trail in the lower portion.<\/p>\n\n\n

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  Eventually, all smiles at the summit.<\/p>\n\n\n

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  and just amazing to look at the trail, all downhill.<\/p>\n\n\n

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  and off to the right, Wanaka, and Wanaka beach.<\/p>\n\n\n

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  Soon enough, time to head downhill \u2013 back the way we came.<\/p>\n\n\n

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and one of the special treats after the hike a stop in Wanaka \u2013 a small, lakeside town with some shops, good eats, and a beautiful little beach on lake Wanaka \u2013 definitely a treat!<\/p>\n\n\n

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This hike got all sorts of rave reviews in AllTrails and the other hiking apps. Part of the appeal was the switch-backs – while a bit on the boring side, it tends to diminish the steep elevation gains. A bit plus for this hike, while completely exposed, it promised some amazing views AND the closeness of Wanaka provided a bit of an after-hike “reward”. Early research showed this was another track with some stunning photos \u2013 listed as one ofRead More →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"category-hiking.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterdittman.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterdittman.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterdittman.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterdittman.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterdittman.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2375"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/peterdittman.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4674,"href":"https:\/\/peterdittman.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375\/revisions\/4674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterdittman.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterdittman.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterdittman.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterdittman.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}