Things to do in Wanaka Region
-
A
Outside Sports
Outside Sports offers a wide range of outdoor gear – for sale or rent, tramping, skiing, climbing, camping and just about anything else you might need to get into the outdoors.
reviewed
-
B
-
C
Cinema Paradiso
Playing first-run and classic movies, Cinema Paradiso has got to be the coolest movie theatre around. Forget boring, stiff cinema seats, this theatre is filled with vintage couches to snuggle up on. Extra cushions are available to stretch out on the floor and there’s even an old Morris Minor to sit in for the true drive-in movie experience. At intermission they throw open the doors and the smell of freshly baked cookies wafts through the theatre and you just can’t help yourself. There is a great cafe that can prepare a meal to be ready at the break. Then sit back and watch the second half of the film with a plate of fantastic grub. Now that’s dinner and a movie! Try the h…
reviewed
-
D
Botswana Butchery
It’s a humble name for Wanaka’s classiest eatery. In a dining room trimmed with dark wood and leather, Asian-inspired dishes like seven-spiced big eye tuna go head to head with Botswana Butchery’s signature aged beef steaks. Definitely food for grown-ups, as is the serious Central Otago–skewed wine list. Just come with a few imbibing partners, as surprisingly few wines are available by the glass. Downstairs in Post Office Lane there’s a growing range of bars to explore after dinner. Let us know what you discover.
reviewed
-
E
White House Café & Bar
It looks like a Greek townhouse miraculously airlifted from Santorini, and inside this long-running local favourite you can linger over plates of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine with lots of vegetarian options. Polished wooden floors and Turkish rugs do nothing to break the delicious spell. In summer, relax under endless Central Otago blue skies seemingly also imported straight from the Med.
reviewed
-
F
Café Gusto
The most common answer to the question ‘Who’s got the best coffee in town?’, Gusto provides robust meals like breakfast burrito with jalapeno peppers, or smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. Both will set you up for the most active of days, and after you’ve kayaked/mountain biked/rafted/hiked, come back in the afternoon and recount the experience over excellent cakes and Wanaka’s best coffee.
reviewed
-
New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum
The poignant and interesting New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum is dedicated to NZ combat pilots, the aircraft they flew and the sacrifices they made. There is a well-preserved collection of Hawker Hurricanes, de Havilland Vampires and vintage Soviet fighter planes, and at the time of research plans were under way for a major expansion of the collection and facilities.
reviewed
-
Mount Cook Aoraki Ascent
18 days (Wanaka)
Attempt New Zealand's highest summit (Mt Cook , Aoraki 3754m) and take part in a 10 day instruction course.
Not LP reviewed
from USD$7,220 -
G
Ardmore St Food Company
This cosmopolitan lakefront cafe has everything from muffins the size of Mt Aspiring to quirkily dubbed breakfasts like Green Eggs and Ham (bacon, eggs and pesto if you’re wondering…). There’s a concise but considered list of local wines and boutique beers, and the attached deli is a good place to pick up gourmet goodies for a lakeside picnic.
reviewed
-
H
Kai Whakapai
A Wanaka institution, Kai (the Maori word for food) is the place to be on a sunny day, with perhaps the best patio in all of Aotearoa. Massive sandwiches, great coffee and exceptionally slow service are all a part of the experience. They have the locally brewed Wanaka Beerworks beer on tap, and some local Central Otago wines as well.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
I
Soulfood Store & Cafe
Park yourself in a rustic wooden booth and stay healthy with organic soups, pizza, pasta and muffins. Not everything’s strictly vegetarian, and breakfast with free-range eggs breaks the spell in a tasty way. The attached organic food store, which has freshly baked bread, is a good spot for a pre-picnic stock-up.
reviewed
-
J
Red Star
Burgers are burgers, right? Wrong. Taking the idea that fast food doesn’t have to be rubbish (or even that fast) and running with it, Red Star spoils diners with a menu featuring inventive ingredients and 17 different burgers. Everybody is catered for – even vegetarians, who get a show-stopping three options.
reviewed
-
Wanaka Transport & Toy Museum
Wanaka Transport & Toy Museum is the end result of one man’s obsessive collecting. Among the 40,000 items, watch for a Cadillac Coupe de Ville, a mysteriously acquired MiG jet fighter, and toys that you’re guaranteed to remember with a wry smile from rainy childhood afternoons.
reviewed
-
Lone Star
The line ‘everything’s bigger in Texas’ seems to fit the food here. Massive plates of grub are the calling card of Lone Star. Tex-Mex flavours and a festive atmosphere keep the mood light – though too many meals here and you won’t be. Best to tuck into the Fred Flintstone–worthy ribs.
reviewed
-
K
Red Rock
With terracotta-red walls, decks to admire the moon from, and weekend DJs and occasional live gigs from around 10pm, this is a friendly place in which to get cosy in cowhide-covered booths. It’s popular in winter with the snowboarder crowd, but in summer the lakefront bars get busier.
reviewed
-
L
Missy’s Kitchen
A dramatic upstairs dining room with equally spectacular lake views serves up local beef, lamb and salmon in innovative and award-winning ways. Prolong the experience with a cocktail at the bar. The list of local beers and wine make returning for a second night worthwhile.
reviewed
-
Aspiring Air
A range of scenic flights, including a 50-minute flight over Mt Aspiring (adult/child $210/120), a Milford Sound fly-past and landing ($375/230) and a sprint around Mt Cook and the glaciers ($395/230). This company is based at Wanaka Airport. Book trips through the i-SITE.
reviewed
-
M
Originz
This gift shop is filled with local crafts, including cards, soaps, clocks, candles, paintings and pottery. You’ll find unique, reasonably priced objects, and it’s all proudly made in NZ. A good place for unusual gifts that are easy to transport home. It’s off Ardmore St.
reviewed
-
Wanaka Beerworks
Toast the past and the future at Wanaka Beerworks with this small brewery’s three award-winning products: a Vienna lager, a German-style black beer and our favourite, the hops-laden ‘Brewski’ Bohemian pilsener. Bookings are recommended for brewery tours.
reviewed
-
N
Yohei
Tucked away in a shopping arcade, this funky Japanese-inspired eatery does interesting local spins on sushi (how about venison or lamb?), and superlative juices and smoothies. Very cool music too, and a good range of vego options.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
O
Barluga
In the up-and-coming Post Office Lane area, Barluga’s leather armchairs and coolly retro wallpaper at first make you think of a refined gentlemen’s club. Wicked cocktails and killer back-to-back beats soon break the illusion.
reviewed
-
Puzzling World
Puzzling World has a 3-D Great Maze and lots of ‘now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t’ visual tomfoolery to keep kids of all ages bemused, bothered and bewildered. It’s en route to Cromwell, 2km from town.
reviewed
-
P
Wanaka Ale House
Next door to Trout, this place owns the coveted corner office. The rustic ambience morphs into a Southern Man wet dream of exposed beams, mountain views and an ample supply of Monteith’s that flows like water.
reviewed
-
Q
Relishes
A cafe by day, this place whips out the white tablecloths at night and becomes a classy restaurant with a good wine list. Try the antipasto platter ($26) with local salmon, and toast the lakefront setting.
reviewed
-
R
Trout
The best of the busier beer barns down on the lakefront, this place is more the new Trout than the old trout. It’s a slick, designer Kiwi pub with the full range of Monteith’s West Coast beers on tap.
reviewed
