Exploring in and around Wanaka

By Kate McRobie Last updated March 23, 2026

Wanaka is a stunning town with so much to offer. Located at the southern end of its namesake, Lake Wanaka and with the Southern Alps’ as the backdrop, visitors fall in love with the area instantly. There’s so much to do besides hitting the slopes, check out some of our top suggestions below.

The Cardrona Distillery

Take a tour of The Cardrona Distillery, where you will learn the secrets to making Cardrona’s finest spirits. You will be shown the process from start to finish before enjoying the products at a tutored tasting.

Wanaka Tree

Visit the iconic Wanaka Tree for an instagram worthy pic. Located at the foothills of Mt Aspiring National Park you will need to park at the Waterfall Creek Track and walk a few minutes to the beach. We recommend sunrise or sunset for the best picture and less crowds.

Jet Boating

There is no shortage of Jet Boat operators in the area and no shortage of rivers and lakes to explore. Jet boating is one of NZ’s most popular adrenaline activities where you skim across inches of water doing 360 degree spins at high speeds. You will be amazed at the natural beauty of the landscape and the stories from the local guides.

Harris Mountain Heli-Ski

Harris Mountain Heli-Ski is the ultimate snow experience for skiers and boarders. Choose from a three run introductory tour to a full day expert tour with some of the best views in the world.

Skydiving in Wanaka

Skydive in Wanaka with options for 15,000ft, 12,000ft or 9000ft jumps. Before the adrenaline rush you will enjoy 10-15 minutes of uninterrupted views of Wanaka’s stunning mountains, lakes and rivers.

Fishing on Lake Wanaka

Book a Fishing Trip on the beautiful Lake Wanaka, there are numerous experiences from fly fishing, boat charters and lake to plate operators where you catch the fish and have it prepared for you.

Craft Beer Breweries

Visit one of the six local Craft Beer Breweries in Wanaka; B.Effect, Ground Up, Maverick, Rhyme & Reason, Sidewinder and Wanaka Beer Works.

Puzzling World

Puzzling World is the perfect activity for the whole family. With a bizarre mix of buildings, illusions, puzzles and mazes to baffle your brain and challenge your reality.

And don’t forget Queenstown is just an hour up the road if you have a car. Check out our blog ‘Queenstown – So Much More Than a Ski Destination‘ for some enthralling activities.

Kate McRobie

Marketing and Brand Manager

Kate McRobie is a digital marketing specialist with over ten years' experience across New Zealand, Amsterdam and Japan in the sports and snow industries, including campaigns for Netflix, Under Armour, Giant Bicycles and Vans. She spent two back-to-back seasons based in Niseko, Japan, heading up marketing for HTM across some of the region's largest hotels, ski schools, rental operations and restaurants.

nicky sullivan

Lizzie was so helpful, gave us some options and advice to help us pinpoint where we wanted to go. And once we had booked provided some really helpful travel advice and answering questions we had. Easy to deal with, everything was smooth and we had a great time.

Shelly Drewitz

Calum was awesome at helping us every step of the way with our trip. We got a great deal on the accommodation and ski lift, and we will definitely come back to Mountainwatch next time based on his excellent service.

Mark K Grant

I booked my Japan ski holiday through Mountainwatch. Very professional and when we arrived in Japan all was laid out for us. The accommodation was even nicer than expected. KIrsty was very good to work with and made things very easy!!!! will book again next season.

Jess

Great experience booking through this company, our contact Anna was brilliant, and organised a fantastic ski trip for us. The travel was all clearly laid out, the accommodation was lovely, the ski field was fantastic, great range of local dining options and bars.

Brett A

Mountain Watch are great, well organised and excellent advice on locations and accommodation. Highly recommended!

darren martin

Thanks Kirsty for helping arrange our family trip to Myoko for Xmas 2025, we had an amazing time

Jan Kelly

Thanks Kirsty, once again your arrangements for us in Japan worked very well. We’ll have no hesitation about touching base with you before we make another booking….. not sure if we’ll be organised by June, but we’ll see. Have a great season yourself and keep up the good work at MountainWatch. Regards Jan and Tom

Samantha Farr

Our trip to Hakuba and Tokyo was so smooth and easy thanks to the help of Justine. Hotel was great and in a perfect location and it was very smooth having all our extras like lessons and rentals booked and sorted before we arrived. Would 100% book through Mountainwatch Travel again!

John Durham

This is the second year that Kristy has organized travel arrangements for a skiing holiday to Furano in Japan, for us. It is the second time that those arrangements have been fulfilled seamlessly. No hassles, as planned and on time. Perfect, and will use Mountainwatchj Travel again. John Durham

Simone B

We booked through Anna O’Malley for our stay in Nozawa onsen Village in Japan. Seamless service, prompt, and pricing reasonable. The Shimataya View Hotel, was a lovely stay. Room size was large, great views, and Amazing service from Staff. Momoi and Eloisa couldn’t help enough- from dinner reservations to organising luggage to Tokyo. Property is older, though clean, well maintained. 10 min walk to slopes, 5 min walk to village centre. I recommend Mountain Watch, and this property. Photos are the view from our room.

Verified by Trustindex

Trustindex verified badge is the Universal Symbol of Trust. Only the greatest companies can get the verified badge who has a review score above 4.5, based on customer reviews over the past 12 months. Read more

Exploring in and around Wanaka

The Cardrona Distillery

Wanaka Tree

Jet Boating

Harris Mountain Heli-Ski

Skydiving in Wanaka

Fishing on Lake Wanaka

Craft Beer Breweries

Puzzling World

Featured Posts

Snow Machine Festival adds Hilltop Hoods and a stack more to Queenstown 2026 line up

The Grasshopper’s Japan 2025-2026 Seasonal Outlook – La Niña Set to Deliver Above Average Snowfall

Snow Machine Returns to Hakuba Valley in 2026 – With a Monster Lineup Locked In

From Hokkaido to Honshu: Japan’s 2024/25 Season in Review

Japan Hits 7 Metres (23 Feet) of Snow—One of the Deepest Bases in Years!

Top 10 Do’s And Dont’s When In Japan