The Best View of Mt Aspiring from Lake Wānaka
The short walk at the northeast end of Glendhu Bay, on Lake Wānaka, provides the finest ground-level view of Tititea / Mt Aspiring, located in Mt Aspiring National Park. The mountain, which rises to 3,033 metres and is the highest peak outside the Aoraki / Mount Cook massif, is usually hidden from Wānaka township by the surrounding ranges. From the northeast end of Glendhu Bay, it appears framed between the Harris Mountains and the Buchanan Peaks. On a calm day, it forms part of the extraordinary mountain reflections on the bay and Lake Wānaka.
Taking the Walk
A car park and signposted reserve sit just before the Glendhu Bay campground on the north side of Mt Aspiring Road. A signpost near the car park points to the view of Mt Aspiring, but it is better to walk the track to the northeast end of the bay.
From the car park, an easy, flat section of the Glendhu Bay Track / Te Araroa follows close to the edge of the bay, with a mix of open ground and regenerating native scrub and low shrubs. In spring, kōwhai trees flower gold along the margins. The stony beach runs alongside the track for most of the way, and you can walk either on the beach itself, depending on the height of the lake, or on the path above it.
The walk to the best viewpoint at the bay's northeast tip is about 1.5 kilometres each way, 20 minutes at a solid pace, or half an hour if you are stopping to take it in. The best views of Mt Aspiring, and the mountains in general, are at the beach where the track swings east away from the bay.
Mountain Reflections and Photography
The best time to visit for reflections is on an early, still morning, when the Harris Mountains and Buchanan Peaks mirror across the water, and Mt Aspiring appears between them. Light cloud can actually add drama to the scene, but may also obscure mt Aspiring, far up the Matukituki Valley. The full Glendhu Bay Track continues from this point back towards Wānaka along the lake edge, a moderate shared walking and cycling track of around 10 kilometres one way, taking 2.5 to 3 hours on foot.
How to Get There
From Wānaka, drive west along Mt Aspiring Road, which begins at the Ardmore Street lakefront. The road follows the western side of Lake Wānaka and passes the Roys Peak Track car park before reaching Glendhu Bay at around 13 km. Look for the signposted car park and reserve on the right, just before the Glendhu Bay campground. The drive takes approximately 14 minutes.
Other nearby places to visit include Diamond Lake, the Rocky Mountain, the Motatapu Gorge and the Motutapu River Track further along Mt Aspiring Road.
