Roys Peak - Wānanga / Wānaka
ROYS PEAK
The Long Way Around - BEAR’s Guide to New Zealand’s South Island
DISTANCE : 16km (1300m elevation)
TIME : 5-6 hours
GRADE : moderate
Let me start by saying that Roys Peak is hard and you will probably argue with your boyfriend for absolutely no reason (unless being cold, tired, hungry & sore is a reason… TBC). I have tackled Roy’s Peak twice, both in the dead of winter! People will tell you that you need crampons, and while I didn’t (because there was no snow/ice on the track) it doesn’t mean you won’t!
The first time I tackled (I use that word deliberately) Roys, I started around 8am, it took me approximately 5.5 hours out of the estimated 6. I was humbled by an absolute jet of a human who lapped me. Yes that’s right. She RAN up and down, not once, but twice. Superhuman. Me? I was just glad to be vertical and hanging out for my sally roll that I’d packed for the peak!
The second time I walked Roys was for sunrise. We couldn’t make it work to do the hike while we were staying in Wānaka so came from Queenstown. Although the 2:30 alarm was grim, the promise of a squashed day-old Boston Cream Doughnut from Ferg was keeping me on my feet.
We made friends with a cow, which was kind of terrifying in the pitch black dark when all you can see is their glowing green eyes reflecting from your headtorch. Once I told him I don’t like beef burgers we became allies and passed each other without a scrap.
We weren’t expecting much of a view because of the thick cloud above us, but as we passed through the cloud layer via a few hairpin bends, we came out on top - literally and figuratively. We could see the stars (!!) and a skinny orange glow hugging the horizon - sunrise looming. Nothing keeps you putting one foot in front of the other more than the promise of sunrise at the peak. Roys for sunrise is something you want to time to perfection - if you start too early, you’ll spend too long at the peak and freeze, start too late and you’ll miss the sunrise from a random bend under a thick layer of clouds. It’s a fine line.
The view that you see all over social media is actually not the peak, but a lookout about half an hour from the peak. I’ve seen stories online of people missing the viewpoint, but without casting shade, you’d have to be walking with your eyes shut to miss it. As we walked past, there was only one other group at the lookout, so we stopped to snap some piccies and kept ascending. The last bit is easy to miss the track, which I’ve somehow managed to do twice, but I don’t think I’m alone in that, because there are makeshift ‘goat tracks’ that get you to the same place.
The lookout, 2022.
By the time we hit the peak we had forgotten all about the alarm ringing in our ears earlier that morning, we had timed the walk to perfection. The pinky glow turned orange, turned into sunlight! The sun on our faces was so welcome! Changing rolls of film at the peak without gloves felt like dismantling a bomb as the timer ticks down (to losing all movement and sensation in your digits).
After the squashed doughnut and some jubes, we started our descent - because we had gone up in the dark, coming down in the daylight felt like a whole new walk. It was fun until we dropped below the cloud layer and realised the day in Queenstown was going to be a gloomy one. I know it sounds silly but it’s funny to think that on a cloudy day at sea level, the sun is still up there shining. Extra cool that we got to see the sun on a day that most other people in Queenstown/Wānaka wouldn’t have. A smug feeling.
Cow pal on the descent
Once home, we had hot showers and a nap. waking up at lunchtime and realising that we had accomplished so much with our day already - it felt like we got a bonus day!
Some little bits about Roys Peak:
Roys is closed from 1st October to 10th November each year for lambing season
This track crosses private land
Roys requires a donation for track maintenance payable via the honesty system at the beginning of the hike
There is a drop loo at the lookout if you’re desperate
There are no shady bits along the way, so if you’re walking in summer - sun protection is vital
Bring snacks for morale (jubes are always welcome)
There is no apostrophe in ‘Roys’ which throws me off - but apparently its a widespread cartographic notion to omit possessive apostrophes in geographic place names to outline that the place is named by the person, not owned by them - how cool!
I know some people think Roys Peak is overrated, but I will do it every time I visit New Zealand. I love it.
Stray beautiful,
BEAR.