Rob Roy Glacial Trail
Getting There
Recommended by our Airbnb host, Sam, we headed out to Rob Roy Glacial Trail in the Mount Aspiring National Park. The track starts at the Raspberry Creek car park, about an hour drive west of Wanaka on the Wanaka-Mount Aspiring Road. The last 30 km are unsealed. The final 10 km is a fine weather road only and subject to washouts and flooded creeks that can be impassable. Check road conditions before you leave.
The Trail
About 15 minutes from the Raspberry Flat car park, cross a swing bridge over the West Matukituki River. The track climbs through a small gorge into beech forest, then into alpine vegetation at the head of the valley, with good views of the Rob Roy Glacier. Starting from the swing bridge, it’s a 4 km track to the upper lookout with the total altitude gain of about 450 meters. The view was so breathtaking very step of the way, we had to stop and take it all in every few meters. Although the sign says 1.5 hours to the upper lookout, it took us almost 7 hours to complete the round trip. It was well worth the extra time. While we were leaving the upper lookout, a thunderous avalanche took place right across the valley on the edge of the glacier. It was so loud that we thought the entire mountain was coming down. Cannot imaging what it would be like when a full scale avalanche were rushing down the valley.
Cromwell
After reaching Wanaka, we kept driving south and stopped at Cromwell for the night. Queenstown was fully booked for the next few days due to the Queenstown Marathon over the weekend. Funny how we always run into such events no matter where we go.
