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Wānaka () is a popular ski and summer resort town in the
Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
region of the
South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
of
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
. At the southern end of Lake Wānaka, it is at the start of the Clutha River/Mata-Au and is the gateway to
Mount Aspiring National Park Mount Aspiring National Park is in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, north of Fiordland National Park, situated in Otago and Westland regions. The park forms part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. Geography Establis ...
. Wānaka is primarily a
resort town A resort town, often called a resort city or resort destination, is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding ...
with both summer and winter seasons. Its economy is based on the many outdoor opportunities this offers. Historically, Māori visited the Wānaka area to hunt and fish in summer, or on their way to seek ''
pounamu Pounamu is a term for several types of hard and durable stone found in southern New Zealand. They are highly valued in New Zealand, and carvings made from pounamu play an important role in Māori culture. Name The Māori word , also used ...
'' (greenstone) on the West Coast.
Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Point ...
abandoned their seasonal camps after a raid by a
North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...
war party in 1836. The current town was founded as Pembroke during the
gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...
of the 19th century, and renamed to Wanaka in 1940. Along with the rest of the
Queenstown-Lakes District Queenstown-Lakes District, a local government district, is in the Otago Region of New Zealand that was formed in 1986. It is surrounded by the districts of Central Otago, Southland, Westland and Waitaki. Much of the area is often referred to a ...
, Wānaka is growing rapidly, with the population increasing by 50% between 2005 and 2015.


Names

''Wānaka'' is the South Island dialect pronunciation of , which means 'sacred knowledge or a place of learning'. The New Zealand Gazetteer cites the meaning as "the lore of the tohunga or priest". While the name could also be a variation of Ō-Anake or Ō-Anaka, a proper name, Ngāi Tahu's atlas dismisses this variation as a simple spelling mistake. A Kāti Māmoe settlement at the site of modern Wānaka was or . was a Kai Tahu (settlement) at the southern end of Lake Wānaka, including Ruby Island. The town was named Wanaka when it was first surveyed in 1863, but renamed Pembroke within a month of the surveyor returning his books to Dunedin. Pembroke was the family name of the Hon Sydney Herbert, a UK Cabinet Minister and member of the
Canterbury Association The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch ...
. The town's name reverted to Wanaka on 1 September 1940 to reduce confusion between the names of the town and the lake. The official name of the lake was updated from Lake Wanaka to Lake Wānaka in 2019, and the town to Wānaka in 2021.


History

A Kāti Māmoe settlement at the site of modern Wānaka was named . The area was invaded by the
Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Point ...
in the early 18th century. Ngai Tahu visited annually, seeking greenstone in the mountains above the
Haast River The Haast River / Awarua is a river on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The Māori name for the river is Awarua. It drains the western watershed of the Haast Pass. The Haast River is in length, and enters the Tasman Sea ne ...
and hunting eels and birds over summer, then returning to the east coast by descending the Mata-Au in reed boats called mōkihi. Their settlement included a
The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive terraces – and also to fortified villages. Pā sites ...
and a (food-gathering site) where pora ('Māori turnip'), , tuna (eels), and weka were gathered. Eels and birds were gathered at a lagoon on the Hāwea side of The Neck, which also supported gardens of potato and turnips. Ngāi Tahu use of the land was ended by attacks by North Island tribes. In 1836, the
Ngāti Tama Ngāti Tama is a historic Māori iwi of present-day New Zealand which whakapapas back to Tama Ariki, the chief navigator on the Tokomaru waka. The iwi of Ngati Tama is located in north Taranaki around Poutama. The Mōhakatino river marks the ...
chief Te Puoho led a 100-person war party, armed with
musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually di ...
s, down the West Coast and over the Haast Pass. They fell on the Ngāi Tahu encampment between Lake Wānaka and Lake Hāwea, capturing ten people and killing and eating two children. Some of the Ngāi Tahu fled down the
Waitaki Waitaki District is a territorial authority district that is located in the Canterbury and Otago regions of the South Island of New Zealand. It straddles the traditional border between the two regions, the Waitaki River, and its seat is Oamaru. ...
river to the coast. Te Puoho took his captives over the
Crown Range The Crown Range is a mountain range that lies to the east of the Wakatipu Basin in Otago, New Zealand. It is noted for two features, the Cardrona Alpine Resort, on the slopes of the 1900 metre Mount Cardrona, and a highway, known as the Crown ...
to Lake Wakatipu and thence to Southland where he was killed and his war party destroyed by the southern Ngāi Tahu leader Tuhawaiki. The first European to visit the area was Nathaniel Chalmers, who was guided inland by Chiefs Reko and Kaikoura in 1853. Reko and Kaikoura showed Chalmers the rock bridge Whatatorere at Roaring Meg, which was the only place that the
Kawarau River The Kawarau River is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. It drains Lake Wakatipu in northwestern Otago via the lake's Frankton Arm. The river flows generally eastwards for about and passes through the steep Kawarau Gorge until it joins ...
could be jumped over, and returned him down the Clutha in a
reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...
boat. European settlement began in the Upper Clutha River Valley in the 1850s, with the establishment of sheep stations by runholders. The first station was at Albert Town, the only place where settlers could ford the
Clutha River The Clutha River (, officially gazetted as Clutha River / ) is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast through Central and South Otago from Lake Wānaka in the Southern Alps to the P ...
. The present site of Wānaka was first surveyed in 1863. Gold was discovered in the nearby
Cardrona valley Cardrona can refer to: * Cardrona, New Zealand - a locality between Wanaka and Queenstown * Cardrona Alpine Resort - a ski field close to Cardrona * Cardrona, Scottish Borders - a village in the Scottish Borders {{disambig ...
in 1862 with many joining the gold rush. Settlement increased in Pembroke during the 1870s because of timber milling in the Matukituki Valley that used Lake Wānaka for transport. Mass tourism began in 1867 when Theodore Russell opened the first hotel, and with the world's first
sheepdog trials A sheepdog trial (also herding event, stock dog trial or simply dog trial) — is a competition or test for working abilities of Herding dog, herding breeds dogs. It is a type of List of dog sports, dog sport that emerged in the 1860s in New Zeala ...
. The first school in the area was opened in Albert Town in 1868. and the Pembroke post office opened in 1873. The Pembroke school opened in 1880 which became the Wanaka District High School in 1940. In 1885 the Commercial Hotel opened in Pembroke and in 1887 the Wanaka Library opened on Ardmore Street. In 1922, the First Wānaka Hotel was destroyed by fire. The following year it was rebuilt as the Wanaka Public Hall. In 1940 Wānaka was connected to the national electricity grid. Wānaka proved a very popular tourist destination because of its borderline continental climate and easy access to snow and water. With the development of Treble Cone (1968) and Cardrona ski fields (1980), Wānaka grew in popularity as a winter destination. Resource consent was approved for a film studio development in 2021. The film studio is expected to cost $280 million and will include up to 10 sound stages, an 11 hectare lake, an Italian village and replicas of parts of Venice, Paris and New York City. In late 2021, Wānaka became home to the smallest Countdown supermarket in New Zealand. It will provide increased competition in the supermarket trade for Wānaka.


Geography

The town of Wānaka is situated at the southern end of Lake Wānaka, surrounded by mountains. To the southwest is the
Crown Range The Crown Range is a mountain range that lies to the east of the Wakatipu Basin in Otago, New Zealand. It is noted for two features, the Cardrona Alpine Resort, on the slopes of the 1900 metre Mount Cardrona, and a highway, known as the Crown ...
and town of Queenstown (); to the north the Haast Pass cuts through the
Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...
near
Makarora Makarora is a small community within the Queenstown-Lakes District of the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated on on the eastern side of the Haast Pass and adjacent to the Makarora River. Local tourism operators o ...
. To the northeast are the towns of
Omarama Omarama is a small town (population 291 at 2018 census) at the junction of State Highways 8 and 83, near the southern end of the Mackenzie Basin, in the South Island of New Zealand. Omarama is in the Waitaki District, in the southern Canterb ...
and
Twizel Twizel () is the largest town in the Mackenzie District, in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand. The town was founded in 1968 to house construction workers on the Upper Waitaki Hydroelectric Scheme. Today, Twizel is a se ...
. Very close to Lake Wānaka is Lake Hāwea, in a parallel
glacial valley U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...
, which has a recently developed settlement of about 1,500 people. To the south of the town lies more of the Southern Alps. The
Glendhu Bay Glendhu Bay is a small settlement on Lake Wānaka in Otago, New Zealand. The bay has a motor camp, and is a short drive west from Wānaka, on the road to Treble Cone skifield and Mount Aspiring National Park Mount Aspiring National Park is in ...
motorpark is close to the town, leading into the Matukituki River valley which gives access to the
Mount Aspiring National Park Mount Aspiring National Park is in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, north of Fiordland National Park, situated in Otago and Westland regions. The park forms part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. Geography Establis ...
. The centre of the town lies on flat land beside Roy's Bay. Parts of the town have expanded into the hills surrounding the centre and around Roy's Bay in both directions. The lakeside area of the town is prone to occasional flooding in spring when heavy rain and snowmelt can cause the lake to rise quickly, as in November 1999.


Climate

Despite New Zealand's mostly
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
, Wānaka is one of the few areas in the country to enjoy a semi-
continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...
, with four distinct seasons. The weather is fairly dry, with spring (September–December) being the wettest season. Annual rainfall is 682 mm which is half the national average. Wānaka's summers are warm, with temperatures reaching the high 20s and an average summer maximum of . Wānaka's highest-ever temperature of was recorded in January 2018. Winter can be extreme by New Zealand standards with temperature mostly in the single digits during the day time followed by cold and frosty nights and frequent snowfalls.


Demography

Wānaka covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. It is the country's 43rd-largest urban area and the fifth-largest urban area in Otago behind
Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
, Queenstown,
Mosgiel Mosgiel (Māori: ''Te Konika o te Matamata'') is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin ...
and
Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway ...
. Wānaka had a population of 9,552 at the
2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...
, an increase of 3,078 people (47.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 4,509 people (89.4%) since the
2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
. There were 3,480 households. There were 4,719 males and 4,842 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.97 males per female, with 1,662 people (17.4%) aged under 15 years, 1,611 (16.9%) aged 15 to 29, 4,599 (48.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,695 (17.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 92.7% European/Pākehā, 5.2% Māori, 0.5% Pacific peoples, 4.5% Asian, and 2.5% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 28.9%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 60.7% had no religion, 31.2% were Christian, 1.0% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.5% were Buddhist and 1.7% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 2,340 (29.7%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 720 (9.1%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,641 people (20.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 4,386 (55.6%) people were employed full-time, 1,323 (16.8%) were part-time, and 72 (0.9%) were unemployed.


Government

Wānaka is in the Waitaki electorate, represented by the
New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party ( mi, Rōpū Nāhinara o Aotearoa), shortened to National () or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside ...
's
Jacqui Dean Jacqueline Isobel Dean (née Hay, born 13 May 1957) is a New Zealand politician and the current Member of Parliament for the Waitaki electorate, where she represents the National Party. Early career Dean was born in Palmerston North. She has ...
since 2005. Wānaka's local governments are the
Queenstown-Lakes District Council Queenstown-Lakes District Council is the territorial authority for the Queenstown-Lakes District of New Zealand. The council has 11 members: mayor of Queenstown-Lakes The mayor of Queenstown-Lakes in New Zealand presides over the Queenstown-L ...
and the
Otago Regional Council Otago Regional Council (ORC) is the regional council for Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. The council's principal office is Regional House on Stafford Street in Dunedin with 250-275 staff, with smaller offices in Queenstown and Alexand ...
.


Wānaka wine sub-region

The area around Wānaka is a formal
sub-region A subregion is a part of a larger region or continent and is usually based on location. Cardinal directions, such as south are commonly used to define a subregion. United Nations subregions The Statistics Division of the United Nations (U ...
of the
Central Otago wine region The Central Otago wine region is a geographical indication in New Zealand's South Island, and the world's southernmost commercial wine growing region. Central Otago is best known for Pinot Noir, but many white wine varieties are also popular. H ...
with several top wineries and vineyards. As with other parts of the wine region, the main grape variety in the area is pinot noir.


Attractions

With its lake and mountain views, Wānaka has become a popular tourist resort, considered less commercialised than Queenstown. Wānaka boasts a growing number of restaurants, cafes and a diverse nightlife. Other attractions in the town include Puzzling World and the Paradiso Cinema. Puzzling World contains a maze, optical illusions and a leaning clocktower. The Paradiso is a classic old cinema, with seating consisting of old couches and an in-theatre
Morris Minor The Morris Minor is a British economy family car that made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1972 in ...
. There are several wineries in the area. Just out of town next to the
Wānaka Airport Wānaka Airport is an airport serving the rural town of Wānaka in Otago, New Zealand. The airport currently has scheduled commercial flights from one airline, SoundsAir, with Air New Zealand having ceased flights to the airport in 2013. It la ...
is the National Transport and Toy Museum. In winter, Wānaka is an excellent place to see the Southern Lights. A number of mountains surrounding Wānaka can be climbed, including
Roys Peak Roys Peak is a mountain in New Zealand, standing between Wānaka and Glendhu Bay. It offers a full-day's walk with views across Lake Wanaka and up to the peak of Mount Aspiring / Tititea. The track zigzags steeply up the side of Mount Roy throug ...
, Mount Iron, Mount Grand and the Pisa Range, all of which provide views of the surrounding area. That Wanaka Tree – a
willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
growing just inside the lake – is a tourist attraction in its own right, featuring on many tourists'
Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
feeds. The tree had its lower branches cut by vandals in 2020.


Festivals

*The biennial
Warbirds over Wanaka Warbirds over Wanaka is a biennial air show in Wānaka, held on the Easter weekend of even-numbered years since 1988. It is held at Wānaka Airport, 10 km south-east of Wānaka, in the southern South Island of New Zealand. Initially conceive ...
airshow An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show ...
has become a major attraction for national and international guests. *Wanakafest *NZ Freeski Open *The biennial New Zealand music Rippon Festival *Challenge Wanaka Triathlon Festival *The '' Festival of Colour'' and ''Aspiring Conversations'' are two festivals organised by the Southern Lakes Arts Festival Trust. The Festival of Colour is a biennial multi disciplinary arts festival featuring theatre, music, dance and visual arts. Aspiring Conversations is an ideas festival. Both are timed for April in alternate years. * Rhythm and Alps *The Wanaka agricultural and pastural show has been held since 1934 at the showgrounds in Wānaka. Thirty to forty thousand people are expected at the 85th edition in March 2022. *The Wanaka Rodeo is normally held each summer but was forced to cancel the 2022 edition due to "uncertainty around Covid-19 and new regulations".


Film locations

The Wānaka region has been the setting for many international films, including ''
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'', ''
The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...
'', the ''Legend of S'', and ''
A Wrinkle in Time ''A Wrinkle in Time'' is a young adult science fantasy novel written by American author Madeleine L'Engle. First published in 1962, the book won the Newbery Medal, the Sequoyah Book Award, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and was runner-up for ...
''.


Summer

Wānaka is host to outdoor recreation and tourism activities with
hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
,
mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...
, mountaineering,
rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
,
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
,
paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'p ...
, kayaking,
rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...
,
jetboat A jetboat is a boat propelled by a jet of water ejected from the back of the craft. Unlike a powerboat or motorboat that uses an external propeller in the water below or behind the boat, a jetboat draws the water from under the boat through ...
ing, and environmental activities. Wānaka has a sunny climate and serves as an access point to the highest New Zealand mountain outside of the
Aoraki/Mount Cook Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, as of 2014, is listed as . It sits in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourit ...
region: Mount Aspiring/Tititea.
Mount Aspiring National Park Mount Aspiring National Park is in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, north of Fiordland National Park, situated in Otago and Westland regions. The park forms part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. Geography Establis ...
is popular for mountaineering and hiking. Tourists enjoy day trips into the park and many tourists go hiking in the park for up to a week at a time. Parts of the Matukituki Valley on the road to the park are popular for rock climbing, and for day walks. Lake Wānaka itself is popular for
waterskiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffici ...
,
wakeboarding Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...
and
sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...
. This along with the local rivers provide many opportunities for fishing. There is a dedicated mountain biking area made by volunteers in a local pine forest. Adjacent to the bike park is an 18-hole disc golf course. All the local ski resorts are open for mountain biking and hiking in the summer.


Winter

Wānaka has the broadest range of snow activity choices of any town in New Zealand. These include
Treble Cone Treble Cone is the closest ski area to Wānaka, New Zealand. Treble Cone is the largest ski area in the South Island, boasting the longest vertical rise in the Queenstown Southern Lakes District. Treble Cone is most known for its views over ...
,
Cardrona Alpine Resort Cardrona Alpine Resort is an alpine resort in New Zealand's South Island. The ski field ranges from 1,260m to 1,860m. The distribution of slopes is 25% beginner, 25% intermediate, 30% advanced and 20% expert. There are 2 detachable quad chairli ...
and Snow Farm, some of New Zealand's premier commercial ski fields. Wānaka is the main accommodation provider for these resorts and so is very busy in high season (July–September). Winter in Wānaka is also the home to a variety of winter sporting events including everything from the annual free Winter Games to The
Merino Muster The Merino Muster is a cross-country skiing marathon in the South Island of New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and ...
. Treble Cone has good lift-accessed terrain and for this reason has become popular amongst visitors, 'ConeHeads'. It also catches some of the better snow in the area, with its location and orientation getting more snow from NW storms. Cardrona is more attractive to families and beginners, though an attempt has been made at the
park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
riding population in competition with SnowPark. Snowpark is a dedicated 100% artificial terrain park for advanced riders. Snow Farm is New Zealand's only commercial cross-country ski field. Cardrona also hosts one of the few Olympic-sized
halfpipes A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ra ...
in the world and has been used for practice for Olympic competition.


Amenities

File:Wanaka Community Hub.jpg, Wānaka Community Hub File:Pembroke Park Wanaka.jpg, Skateboard park, Pembroke Park File:Mt Aspiring VC 27.jpg, Mt Aspiring visitor centre


Swimming pool

The Wānaka Recreation Centre has a 25 metre lap pool, a 20 metre learners pool and hot pool for adults. It is located at 41 Sir Tim Wallis Drive. The swimming complex was opened in 2018 and cost $12.8 million.


Wānaka Community Hub

The Wānaka Community Hub is home to 25 community organisations. The building includes a hall, foyer and offices. The build cost $3.8 million and was opened in October 2021.


Library

The Wānaka Library is in Dunmore Street. As well as an extensive collection of books and ebooks, audiobooks and newspapers, the library provides Wifi, printing, copying and computer facilities. After issues with freedom campers in 2016, signs in the Wānaka Library ask people not to bathe or wash dishes in the toilets.


Golf course

The Wānaka golf course, located on Ballantye Road, was established in 1922. A further nine holes were added to the course in 1967 to make it an 18 hole golf course. The Wanaka Golf Club has around 950 members.


Tititea/Mt Aspiring national park visitor centre

The Tititea/ Mt Aspiring national park visitor centre is located on the corner of Ardmore St and Ballentyne Rd. It provides advice about walking and hiking in the national park and information about the huts, campsites, weather and heritage sites. There is also a small museum display of the history, fauna and flora of the national park within the visitor centre.


Pembroke Park

Pembroke Park covers 10.5 hectares on the foreshore of Lake Wānaka. The majority of the park is grass fields, with a skate park and 136 carparks close to the town centre. Originally known as "The Commonage", the park was surveyed in 1875 and 1880. A nine-hole golf course was established on the park by 1920, with barbed wire to keep the cows out. From 1940, the New Zealand Electricity Department held the park with the thought that Lake Wanaka might be used for hydro-electricity production. It was designated as a recreational reserve in 1971, managed by Lake County Council, (which later became the Queenstown Lakes District Council). The establishment of the parking lot in Pembroke Park in 2000 was controversial, as one of its management objectives is "to preserve in perpetuity Pembroke Park as a recreational area for the enjoyment of the people of Wanaka and visitors".


Notable buildings

File:St Colombas Wanaka.jpg, St Columba's Anglican Church File:Chalmers' Cottage 27 Wanaka.jpg, Chalmers' Cottage File:Wanaka War memorial.jpg, War Memorial File:Dinosaur slide Wanaka.jpg, Dinosaur slide File:Wanaka watersports building.jpg, Watersports facility File:Wanaka Catholic Church.jpg, Wanaka Catholic Church


Saint Columba's Anglican Church

Saint Columba's was built in 1902 and completed in 1911. It is a category 2 historic place.


Chalmers' cottage

Chalmers' cottage is a grade 2 listed building. It was built in the 1870s for Archibald Chalmers, who was a butcher based in Wānaka.


Wānaka War Memorial

The Wānaka War Memorial commemorates the twenty seven soldiers from the area that died in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the nine that died in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It is located on Chalmers Street.


Dinosaur slide

The dinosaur slide built by the Wānaka Jaycees in 1976 is a well known fixture at the lakefront playground in Wānaka.


Wanaka watersports facility

Described as having a "richly textured and contoured façade
hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
belies the tough functional requirements demanded by a project realised in a sensitive environmental zone", the Wanaka watersports facility was the winner of the 2020 Southern Architecture Awards. It is used by the Wanaka Rowing Club, Wanaka Lake Swimmers and TriWanaka. The facility gained resource consent in 2016 despite 744 submitters opposing the build.


Holy Family Catholic Church

Holy Family Catholic Church was built in 2011 and its organic form was designed to allude to the mountains that surround it. The church replaced the previous church in Brownston Street. It is located next to the Holy Family School.


Education

Wānaka has four schools. *Holy Family School is a state-integrated Catholic full primary (Year 1–8) school, and has students. The school was established in 2006. *
Mount Aspiring College Mount Aspiring College is a state coeducational secondary school in Wānaka, New Zealand. It was founded in 1986 after the division of Wanaka Area School into separate primary and secondary schools. The college, though normally a day school, o ...
is a state Year 7–13 secondary school, and has students. The school was established in 1986 following the split of Wanaka Area School. *Wanaka Primary School is a state contributing primary (Year 1–6) school and has students. The school was established in 1986 following the split of Wanaka Area School and relocated to its current site in October 2010. *Te Kura O Take Kārara is a state contributing primary school, and has students. The schools was established in 2020, providing capacity for more primary school aged children as Wānaka's population grows. All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of


Infrastructure and services


Transport

Wānaka is served by the
Wānaka Airport Wānaka Airport is an airport serving the rural town of Wānaka in Otago, New Zealand. The airport currently has scheduled commercial flights from one airline, SoundsAir, with Air New Zealand having ceased flights to the airport in 2013. It la ...
as well as by roads over the Crown Range, through the Haast Pass/Tioripatea to the West Coast, to
Mount Cook Village Aoraki / Mount Cook, often referred to as Mount Cook Village, is located within New Zealand's Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park at the end of , only south of the summit of the country's highest mountain, also called Aoraki/Mount Cook, in the S ...
via the
Lindis Pass Lindis Pass (elevation 971 m) is located in the South Island of New Zealand. A carpark at the top of the pass provides access to a viewpoint and two short trails to other viewing spots. Lindis Pass lies between the towns of Cromwell (78km, 55 mi ...
to the north, and south through
Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
by . There are daily bus services to
Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
,
Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
, Queenstown,
Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...
and
Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...
. During the early 20th century an unsuccessful proposal was made for the
Otago Central Railway The Otago Central Railway (OCR) or in later years Otago Central Branch Railway, now often referred to as the Taieri Gorge Railway, was a secondary railway line in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. Construction Construction o ...
, then terminated at Cromwell, to be extended to Wānaka and onward to
Lake Hāwea Lake Hāwea is New Zealand's ninth largest lake. The lake is in the Otago Region at an altitude of 348 metres. It covers 141 km² and reaches 392 metres deep. Lake Hāwea is named after a Māori tribe who preceded the Waitaha people in ...
. The main reason for NZR's reluctance was having to cross the Clutha River twice. A more direct route to Hāwea was planned but dropped due to cost.


Utilities

Aurora Energy operates the electricity distribution network in and around Wānaka. Electricity is fed from Transpower's national grid at Cromwell to Wānaka via twin 66,000-volt lines. Fresh water for the town is drawn from Lake Wānaka via two inlets and treated by chlorination prior to distribution. Since 2008, the water supply has had issues with Didymo "rock snot" algae entering the system and building up, clogging filters and household plumbing. The Queenstown-Lakes District Council planned to add protozoal treatment to the water supply in 2024.


Notable people

*
Tim Wallis Sir Timothy William Wallis (born 9 September 1938) is a New Zealand businessman and aviation entrepreneur. He pioneered live deer capture from helicopters, which led to a significant industry in New Zealand. He was a leader and international re ...
, pilot *
Nico Porteous Nico Porteous (born 23 November 2001) is a New Zealand freestyle skier and an Olympic champion. He is New Zealand's youngest Olympic Games medallist, having won a bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics at the age of 16. He became New Zealand' ...
, New Zealand's youngest Olympic medallist *
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott Zoi Katherine Sadowski-Synnott (, born 6 March 2001) is a New Zealand snowboarder, specialising in slopestyle and big air competitions. She won the gold medal in the women's slopestyle and silver in the big air at the 2022 Winter Olympics, b ...
, New Zealand's first winter Olympic gold medallist


References


External links


Wānaka promotions siteWarbirds over Wanaka website
{{Authority control Queenstown-Lakes District Populated places in Otago Climbing areas of New Zealand Populated lakeshore places in New Zealand