Wanaka
Wanaka is a picturesque town in the center of the Otago region, on the South Island of New Zealand.
It is located at the southern tip of stunning Lake Wanaka, about which Keren Peles released a lovely song. It is recommended to rent a boat on the lake (pedal or paddle) and cruise on its crystal-clear waters.
Recommended Hotels in Wanaka
♦ Clearbrook Motel & Serviced Apartments
A 4-star apartment hotel including a fully equipped kitchen. Free internet and parking.
A 4.5-star hotel. Free internet and parking.
Attractions in Wanaka
The town is famous for its variety of sports and extreme activities. It serves as a popular destination for skydiving (Tandem), canyoning, rafting, cycling, kayaking, helicopter flights, and more.
♦ Booking tours and attractions in Wanaka on Viator:
The most famous tourist site in town, which attracts youth and families, is Stuart Landsborough's Puzzling World, famous for its three-dimensional Great Maze.
This is one of the more affordable attractions in New Zealand (where admission fees and activities can skyrocket!). Start your visit with a trip to the restrooms, which are a nice attraction in themselves. There is an entrance foyer that looks like ancient Roman toilets featuring a charming 3D illusion painting. In the site's main building, there are four main rooms: the Hologram Room featuring about twenty beautiful and impressive holograms; the Hall of Following Faces with rows upon rows of sunken faces of famous figures (Einstein, Mozart, Van Gogh, and more) that appear to look at you as you move around—no matter where or how fast you move, their eyes follow you.
The next room is specially built with impossible angles and reverse slopes, so that someone walking downhill is actually climbing up and vice versa. It features several neat setups like a billiard table with a ball rolling uphill, a chair moving uphill, etc. Everything is very interactive and fun. The last room is also a distorted room (Ames Room) where someone standing near one door looks tiny, like a dwarf, while someone near the other door looks giant. Between the rooms hang 3D illusion artwork with special effects and several brain-teaser puzzles. The large entrance foyer has plenty of brain teasers and puzzles as well—puzzle enthusiasts could easily spend a whole day here...
From there, continue to the outdoor courtyard with the giant maze. The goal is to reach four colored towers and then find your way out. The instructions state that completing the towers in a specific designated order (for advanced visitors) takes between one and two hours, while reaching them in any order takes up to an hour. It is a very challenging and complex maze that requires patience and a good sense of direction to conquer. Don't miss visiting the charming courtyard on the other side of the building, featuring the Leaning Tower and tumbling houses where you can take optical illusion photos (holding the top of the building, etc.).
Wanaka also serves as the gateway to the wonderful Rob Roy Track, a 10 km hike. The trail passes by alpine landscapes, glaciers, steep cliffs, and waterfalls. Walking time is approximately 4–5 hours.
A more demanding trek with breathtaking bird's-eye views of mountains and lakes is Roy's Peak, which involves a 1,300-meter climb and takes 5–6 hours.
