Wānaka () is a ski and summer resort town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. At the southern end of Lake Wānaka, it is at the start of the Clutha River and is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park.
Wānaka is primarily a resort town with both summer and winter seasons. Its economy is based on the many outdoor opportunities this offers.
Historically, Māori visited the Wānaka area to hunt and fish in summer, or on their way to seek (greenstone) on the West Coast. Ngāi Tahu abandoned their seasonal camps after a raid by a North Island war party in 1836.
Along with the rest of the Queenstown-Lakes District, Wānaka is one of the fastest-growing towns in New Zealand, with the population tripling between 2000 and 2020.
Etymology
The name of the town comes from the lake it sits upon, Lake Wānaka. The town was originally named Wanaka but was changed just a month later to Pembroke, after the youngest son of the Earl of Pembroke, Sidney Herbert, who was the 1855 Colonial Secretary and a member of the Canterbury Association. On 1 September 1940 the name was changed back to Wanaka to reduce confusion between the names of the town and the lake.
Wānaka is the South Island dialect form of , which means 'sacred knowledge or a place of learning'. Edward Shortland reported the name as a corruption of or meaning 'place of Anake/Anaka', but that is disputed by Ngāi Tahu who consider Oanaka to be a transcription error.
The name of the town was altered to Wānaka in 2021.
History A Kāti Māmoe settlement at the site of modern Wānaka was named .
The area was invaded by the Ngāi Tahu in the early 18th century. Ngāi Tahu visited annually, seeking greenstone in the mountains above the Haast River and hunting eels and birds over summer, then returning to the east coast by descending the Clutha River in reed boats called mōkihi. Their settlement included a pā and a (food-gathering site) where pora ('Māori turnip'), , tuna (eels), and weka were gathered. Eels and birds were gathered at a lagoon on the Hāwea side of The Neck, which also supported gardens of potato and turnips.
Ngāi Tahu use of the land was ended by attacks by North Island tribes. In 1836, the Ngāti Tama chief Te Pūoho led a 100-person war party, armed with muskets, down the West Coast and over the Haast Pass. They fell on the Ngāi Tahu encampment between Lake Wānaka and Lake Hāwea, capturing ten people and killing and eating two children. Some of the Ngāi Tahu fled down the Waitaki river to the coast. Te Puoho took his captives over the Crown Range to Lake Wakatipu and thence to Southland where he was killed and his war party destroyed by the southern Ngāi Tahu leader Tūhawaiki.
The first known map of Lake Wānaka was drawn in 1844 by the southern Ngāi Tahu leader Te Huruhuru. The first European to visit the area was Nathanael Chalmers, who was guided inland by Chiefs Reko and Kaikōura in 1853. Reko and Kaikōura showed Chalmers the rock bridge Whatatorere at Roaring Meg, which was the only place that the Kawarau River could be jumped over, and returned him down the Clutha in a reed boat – arguably the first recorded instance of adventure tourism in the region.
European settlement began in the Upper Clutha River Valley in the 1850s, with the establishment of sheep stations by runholders. The first station was at Albert Town, the only place where settlers could ford the Clutha River. The present site of Wānaka was first surveyed in 1863.<ref name=lw></ref> Gold was discovered in the nearby Cardrona valley in 1862 with many joining the gold rush. Settlement increased in Pembroke during the 1870s because of timber milling in the Matukituki Valley that used Lake Wānaka for transport.
Mass tourism began in 1867 when Theodore Russell opened the first hotel, and with the world's first sheepdog trials. The first school in the area was opened in Albert Town in 1868. The Pembroke post office opened in 1873; the Pembroke school opened in 1880 (it became the Wanaka District High School in 1940). In 1885 the Commercial Hotel opened in Pembroke, and in 1887 the Wanaka Library opened on Ardmore Street. In 1922, the First Wānaka Hotel was destroyed by fire and was replaced the following year by the Wanaka Public Hall. Wānaka was connected to the national electricity grid in 1940.
Wānaka proved a very popular tourist destination because of its borderline continental climate and easy access to snow and water. With the development of Treble Cone (1968) and Cardrona ski fields (1980), Wānaka grew in popularity as a winter destination.
Wānaka expanded rapidly in the early 2000s, with annual growth peaking at 11% in 2002 when the population reached 5,000 residents. The population passed 10,000 in 2014, and by 2025 had increased to over 18,000 people - over a third of the Queenstown-Lakes District.
Geography
The town of Wānaka is at the southern end of Lake Wānaka on Roys Bay, and is surrounded by mountains. To the southwest are the Crown and Criffel Ranges and town of Queenstown, away. To the north the Haast Pass cuts through the Southern Alps near Makarora. To the northeast are the towns of Omarama and Twizel. Lake Wānaka comes within 1 km of the slightly smaller Lake Hāwea; they are separated only by rocky ridge called "The Neck". South of Wānaka, the wide Upper Clutha valley leads to Cromwell at the junction of the Kawarau and Clutha rivers.
Glendhu Bay is on the lake's western shore, close to the Matukituki River valley which gives access to the Mount Aspiring National Park.
The centre of the town lies on flat land beside Roys Bay. The town has expanded into the hills surrounding the centre and in both directions along the lake shore. The lakeside area of the town is prone to occasional flooding in spring when heavy rain and snowmelt can cause the lake to rise quickly, as in November 1999.
Climate
Despite New Zealand's mostly oceanic climate, Wānaka is one of the few areas in the country to enjoy a semi-continental climate, with four distinct seasons. The weather is fairly dry, with spring (September–December) being the wettest season. Annual rainfall is 682 mm which is half the national average. Wānaka's summers are warm, with temperatures reaching the high 20s and an average summer maximum of . Wānaka's highest-ever temperature of was recorded in January 2018.
Winter can be extreme by New Zealand standards with temperature mostly in the single digits during the day time followed by cold and frosty nights and frequent snowfalls.
Demography Wānaka covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. It is the country's 43rd-largest urban area and the fifth-largest urban area in Otago behind Dunedin, Queenstown, Mosgiel and Oamaru.
Wānaka had a population of 9,552 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 3,078 people (47.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 4,509 people (89.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 3,480 households, comprising 4,719 males and 4,842 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.97 males per female, with 1,662 people (17.4%) aged under 15 years, 1,611 (16.9%) aged 15 to 29, 4,599 (48.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,695 (17.7%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 92.7% European/Pākehā, 5.2% Māori, 0.5% Pasifika, 4.5% Asian, and 2.5% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 28.9, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 60.7% had no religion, 31.2% were Christian, 1.0% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.5% were Buddhist and 1.7% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 2,340 (29.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 720 (9.1%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,641 people (20.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 4,386 (55.6%) people were employed full-time, 1,323 (16.8%) were part-time, and 72 (0.9%) were unemployed.
+Individual statistical areasName Area (km2) Population Density (per km2) Households Median age Median income Wanaka Waterfront 3.89 2,121 549 765 42.4 years $38,000 Wanaka North 7.77 2,412 210 816 35.2 years $40,700 Wanaka West 4.42 1,725 390 669 45.8 years $40,900 Albert Town 4.96 2,031 409 687 37.3 years $41,700 Wanaka Central 7.56 1,263 167 543 46.3 years $33,900 New Zealand 37.4 years $31,800
Government Wānaka is in the Waitaki electorate, represented by the New Zealand National Party's Miles Anderson since 2023.
Wānaka's local governments are the Queenstown-Lakes District Council and the Otago Regional Council.
Wānaka wine sub-region The area around Wānaka is a formal sub-region of the Central Otago wine region with several top wineries and vineyards. As with other parts of the wine region, the main grape variety in the area is pinot noir.
Attractions With its lake and mountain views, Wānaka has become a popular tourist resort, considered less commercialised than Queenstown.
Wānaka boasts a growing number of restaurants, cafes and a diverse nightlife. Other attractions in the town include Puzzling World and the Paradiso Cinema. Puzzling World contains a maze, optical illusions and a leaning clocktower. The Paradiso is a classic old cinema, with seating consisting of old couches and an in-theatre Morris Minor. There are several wineries in the area. Just out of town next to the Wānaka Airport is the National Transport and Toy Museum.
In winter, Wānaka is a suitable place to see the Southern Lights.
A number of mountains surrounding Wānaka can be climbed, including Roys Peak, Mount Iron, Mount Grand and the Pisa Range, all of which provide views of the surrounding area.
"That Wānaka Tree" – a willow growing just inside the lake – is a tourist attraction in its own right, featuring on many tourists' Instagram feeds. The tree had its lower branches cut by vandals in 2020.
Festivals
The biennial Warbirds over Wanaka airshow is a major attraction for national and international guests. Wanakafest NZ Freeski Open The biennial New Zealand music Rippon Festival Challenge Wanaka Triathlon Festival The Festival of Colour is a biennial multi disciplinary arts festival featuring theatre, music, dance and visual arts. Held every second April, it alternates with the ideas festival Aspiring Conversations; both are organised by the Southern Lakes Arts Festival Trust. Rhythm & Alps The Wānaka agricultural and pastoral show has been held since 1934 at the showgrounds in Wānaka. Thirty to forty thousand people were expected at the 85th edition in March 2022. The Wanaka Rodeo is normally held each summer but was forced to cancel the 2022 edition due to "uncertainty around Covid-19 and new regulations".
Film locations Films made in the Wānaka region include The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, the Legend of S, and A Wrinkle in Time.
Summer
Wānaka is host to outdoor recreation and tourism activities with hiking, mountain biking, mountaineering, rock climbing, fishing, paragliding, kayaking, rafting, jetboating, and environmental activities. Wānaka has a sunny climate and serves as an access point to the highest New Zealand mountain outside of the Aoraki / Mount Cook region: Mount Aspiring / Tititea.
Mount Aspiring National Park is popular for mountaineering and hiking. Tourists enjoy day trips into the park and many tourists go hiking in the park for up to a week at a time. Parts of the Matukituki Valley on the road to the park are popular for rock climbing, and for day walks.
Lake Wānaka itself is popular for waterskiing, wakeboarding and sailing. This along with the local rivers provide many opportunities for fishing. There is a dedicated mountain biking area made by volunteers in a local pine forest. Adjacent to the bike park is an 18-hole disc golf course. All the local ski resorts are open for mountain biking and hiking in the summer.
Winter