Glenorchy

Glenorchy sits at the head of Lake Wakatipu, forty-five minutes from Queenstown along the western shore. The drive is the first half of the reason to go: the road runs right on the lake with the mountains coming straight down to it, and there are pull-offs the whole way. The second half is that Glenorchy is still a village — a few hundred people, one pub, one store, and the mountains getting bigger behind it.

History

Long before Europeans, this was a seasonal stop on the trail to pounamu. Parties came over from the West Coast and up the Dart and Rees valleys, and oven sites and camps have been found along both rivers.

Europeans arrived in the 1860s, grazing sheep, milling timber and eventually mining scheelite in the hills. For most of that time there was no road — everything came and went by steamer, which is why the little red shed on the waterfront was the steamship depot and why it is the most photographed building for fifty kilometres.

What to do

• The red shed and the wharf. Five minutes, and worth it in any light.
• The Glenorchy Lagoon walkway, a boardwalk loop through the wetland behind the town — flat, easy, and good for birds.
• Mrs Woolly's General Store for food and supplies, and the Glenorchy Hotel for a beer with the mountains in the window.
• Dart River jet boat trips, which leave from Mull Street.
• Kinloch, across the water at the very head of the lake, and Paradise up the valley beyond, where the Isengard scenes in The Lord of the Rings were shot.

Walking from here

Glenorchy is the road end for two of the best multi-day tramps in the country. The Routeburn Track starts up the Routeburn valley and crosses to the Divide — it is a Great Walk, and huts must be booked well ahead for the season. The Rees-Dart circuit is an advanced four to five day route; the Dart half is currently closed by a slip until at least December 2026, so the loop cannot be completed.

For a shorter day, the Diamond Creek walk near Diamond Lake is 45 minutes each way and easy.

Practical

There is one small store and limited fuel, so fill up in Queenstown or Frankton and bring what you need. Most of the roads beyond the village — Paradise, Rees Valley, the Routeburn road — are gravel, flood and close, sometimes for weeks. The lake road itself closes occasionally after slips. Check the council's road reports before you leave, particularly in spring.

Nearby

Moke Lake and Lake Dispute are both off the road on the way up.