Getting There

By Plane -- Air New Zealand (tel. 0800/737-000 in NZ), provides a daily service from Christchurch. Aspiring Air (tel. 0800/100-943 in NZ, or 03/443-7943) has three flights a day from Queenstown.

By Coach (Bus) -- InterCity (tel. 09/913-6100) provides coach service linking Wanaka to the West Coast, Christchurch, Dunedin, Mount Cook, Queenstown, Te Anau, and Milford Sound. Kiwi Experience (tel. 09/366-9830) and Magic Travellers (tel. 09/358-5600) both include Wanaka on their routes. Wanaka Connexions (tel. 03/443-9122) runs between Wanaka and Queenstown several times a day, and also has a daily service to Invercargill, Dunedin, and Christchurch.

By Car -- Wanaka is reached via the Haast Pass from the West Coast. It's a 4-hour drive from the glaciers. Highway 6 connects it to Cromwell and Queenstown, 1 1/2 hours to the south. Highway 89, the Cardrona Road over the Crown Range, is a more direct and impressive route that takes around 1 hour (if you stop to admire the views). Once narrow, winding, and treacherous, it's now fully paved and is, in fact, the highest tar-sealed road in Australasia. Wanaka is a 5-hour drive from Christchurch and 3 1/2 hours from both Dunedin and Te Anau.

Visitor Information

The Lake Wanaka i-SITE Visitor Centre, 100 Ardmore Rd., is in the log cabin on the lakefront (tel. 03/443-1233; fax 03/443-1290). It's open daily May to mid-September from 8:30am to 5pm, mid-September through April from 8:30am to 6:30pm (closed Dec 25). The Department of Conservation, Ardmore Street and Ballantyne Road (tel. 03/443-7660; fax 03/443-8777), provides information on Mount Aspiring National Park and all DOC tracks in the area. The DOC is open November through April daily from 8am to 5pm, and in winter Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday from 9:30am to 4pm.

Fast Facts

The fastest and cheapest Internet access is offered by Bits & Bytes, corner of Helwick and Brownston streets (tel. 03/443-7078). For medical matters, go to Wanaka Medical Centre, 21 Russell St. (tel. 03/443-7811). The Post Office is on Ardmore Street, as you drive into Wanaka.

Special Events

Wanaka Rodeo (tel. 03/443-7736) is held in early January. Rippon Rock Festival (tel. 03/443-1833) is a biennial open-air music festival in a vineyard in early February. Silverstone Race To The Sky draws international motorsport junkies to an annual Easter hill climb. April's Warbirds Over Wanaka International Air Show combines classic vintage and veteran aircraft, machinery, fire engines, and tractors with dynamic Air Force displays and aerobatic teams in the natural amphitheater of the Upper Clutha Basin. It's held every second Easter in even-numbered years. In autumn, celebrate the Festival of Colour, 5 days of intense arts, dance, theater, and music. The next festival will be held in April 2009. There are also numerous ski festivals during winter; the visitor center has details.