WANAKA – QUEENSTOWN

Section Distance = 89 km

Total Distance = 1538 km

One cannot visit Wanaka without a quick snap at “that Wanaka tree” especially when your path takes you right past it.

WANAKA – FERN BURN HUT

With a nice cycleway to follow the hike between Wanaka and Glendhu Bay flew by (it may have also had something to do with the ice cream I promised myself at the Campground as I passed through 🤔)

This was followed by a short roadwalk to the start of the Motatapu Track and a progressively steeper, undulating path to Fern Burn Hut.

 

FERN BURN HUT – ROSES HUT 

Then the real challenge began…

Up, down, up, down, up, down you get the idea! The next few days involved lots of steep mountains (does NZ have any other kind???) with hard uphill slogs followed by tediously slow descents.

Multiple saddle summits a day in 30 degree temperatures with nary a tree to be seen tested out the trail fitness I have gained so far.

The huts along this section are fabulous though! Getting spoilt with big huts, fly screens and water tanks.

We started passing more NOBO (north bound) hikers on the trail at this point. It’s a great opportunity for a rest break, I mean to gather information about the trail to come.

 

ROSES HUT – ARROWTOWN

The walk into Arrowtown involved a pre dawn race between the sun and I to the top of Roses Saddle (I won 🙌) so I had completed at least one big climb before the heat of the day kicked in. 

I was not so lucky on the appropriately named Big Hill, which was a hot, sweaty slog that ended with a celebratory milkshake in Arrowtown.

The cloudless sky made the dramatic peaks look like 2d cutouts stuck onto a blue background. The ridgeline was so precise and defined.

But the most exciting part of the day was the fact I hit 1500km. HALF WAY!!!

It felt a bit weird considering how close to Bluff I was, yet I still have so far to go…

 

ARROWTOWN – QUEENSTOWN 

This section finished up with another road walk and cycleway through to Queenstown and new socks 🧦because after 1500km by trusty cedarburgs were not quite so soft or fluffy anymore… 

 

After all the usual town jobs (laundry, shower, raid the bakery, gear check and re- supply) it’s a rest day before continuing my journey south. 

My next section is another long one but will take me all the way through to Bluff… Te Araroa Part 13