Lake Wanaka
Wanaka proudly sits on the southern shore of Lake Wanaka, across from Mount Aspiring and a fifty minute drive from Queenstown.
It is Wanaka's amazing scenery that makes this town so relaxing, yet sophisticated, catching a large number of tourist's attention each year.
With the well-known Lake Wanaka situated in this town, the summer is never dull and during this period has a numerous amount activities to choose from such as; fly fishing, boating, mountain biking, kayaking and many more.
If winter is more your thing then fear not as there are striking lake cruises, not to mention the four different ski areas that Wanaka is home to.
Wanaka Activites
Lake Wanaka has a range of activities. Most notable are the snow resorts, Cardrona and Treble Cone. A must see is Wanaka's Puzzling World.
Wanaka History
Originally, Wanaka was named Oanaka after an ancient chief but it was then renamed Pembroke in 1858 after a British colonial secretary.
Pembroke was the service centre for the regional minors during the height of the gold rush in the mid 1860s.
In 1940 the town once more saw a change to its name, this time to, as we know it today, Wanaka.
It was not until the late 1970s that the famous ski fields were established and since then, Wanaka has been a popular tourist spot.