Wanaka, NZ

The chef-driven dining room above Dunmore Street, a Cuisine Good Food two-hat room and one of the country's top-rated kitchens. Sharing-plate menu of NZ produce with European technique. The dinner in town if you want the best.

A laneway dining room above Ardmore Street leaning into wild-meat and seafood from across Otago. Chef-led, retro-vibed, and the more adventurous menu in town. Where the chefs from other restaurants eat on their nights off.

Casual lakeside cafe-deli with a Middle Eastern-leaning hot counter, slow-cooked stews and big bowls of grains and salads. Fast, generous, and the locals' lunch when they do not want a sit-down restaurant. Counter only.

Down a laneway off Helwick Street, the brunch room the entire town swears by. Big eggs benedict, the legendary cheese scones, and the kind of coffee that travels well. The single most reliable morning room in Wanaka.

Bustling lakefront Italian on the main strip, with a wood-fired pizza oven and a pasta menu that does the basics right. Big windows, big portions, family-friendly. The reliable dinner with kids in town.

Hidden in the alley off Helwick Street, Arc does the best brunch tapas in town and rolls into a slick evening small-plates dinner. Bookable, leaning grown-up, and a quieter dinner than the lakeside rooms.

A counter window on Helwick Street doing sweet and savoury crepes, with a queue of skiers in winter and walkers in summer. Best post-Roys-Peak meal in town. Walk it out with a Nutella crepe to the lakefront.

Counter burrito shop on Ardmore Street where the local skiers, climbers and bike crowd refuel. Generous, cheap, fast. The Wanaka post-hike meal you do not regret in the morning.

Casual Indian on Helwick Street with the most reliable curry menu in town, run by a chef-family from Punjab. Long takeaway queue at 7pm tells you everything. Generous, properly spicy if you ask.

Lakefront dining room of the Edgewater Resort, with the calmest dinner view in Wanaka. Seasonal menu of NZ produce and a wine list that earns its prices. The grown-up option for a quiet special-occasion dinner away from the strip.

Lakeside small-plates and bar from the same group as Kika, doing fish-led plates with a New Zealand wine list. More casual than Kika and easier to walk into.

Plant-leaning cafe-and-store on Helwick Street with vegan baking, a hot counter and the deepest gluten-free cabinet in town. Even non-vegans come for the slices. The right answer for mixed dietaries.

Attached to the legendary indie cinema, this is the cafe where locals eat dinner before a film. Couches inside, garden out the front, and an unfussy menu of pies, pizzas, and homemade cookies for intermission.

Wanaka's signature 16km return walk, climbing 1200m up a ridge to the famous knife-edge lookout over Lake Wanaka and Mount Aspiring. Five to six hours of steep tussock farmland; the photo at the top is the country's most-shared hiking shot.

The quieter Roys Peak alternative on the strip of land between Lakes Wanaka and Hawea, with nearly identical views and a fraction of the crowd. About 16km return, five to six hours. The walk locals do instead.

A choose-your-own-walk loop near Lake Wanaka with three options: the easy Diamond Lake circuit (45 min), the harder Lake Wanaka Lookout (2 hr), or the full Rocky Mountain summit (3 hr). The cheap Roys Peak alternative without the elevation.

A 40-minute drive west to Mount Aspiring National Park, then a 10km return walk up a river valley to the hanging glacier above. Genuine alpine scenery and the most spectacular short hike in the region. Three to four hours plus the drive.

A flat 7km return walk from town along the Clutha River outlet, through beech forest with swimming holes and a fly-fishing river. Pram-friendly, gentle, and the right answer for a recovery day after Roys Peak.

The lakeside path from town to Glendhu Bay, 15km one way along the lake edge with the alps reflecting on it the whole way. Bike it, walk a section, or do the lot — most people walk an hour out and back. Flat to gently rolling.

A short steep 90-minute summit loop on the eastern edge of town with views down to the lake and out to Cardrona. Free, easy access, and the right warm-up walk for a Wanaka visit.

Forty-five minutes north on the Haast highway, a 1km flat walk through silver beech to a swing bridge over startlingly blue pools in the Makarora River. Short, accessible, and the easiest way to see the country's most striking river water.

Wanaka's legendary indie cinema, where the seats are couches and old cars, intermissions come with fresh-baked cookies, and the films are a curated mix of recent indie and current releases. The most distinctive movie night in the country.

The largest ski field in the Wanaka area, with five separate basins, NZ's biggest terrain park, and tubing for non-skiers. Forty minutes from town on a sealed road. The local mountain in winter; the bike park and tubing run in summer.

The bigger, harder ski field 25 minutes from town, with the country's longest vertical drop and a steep advanced terrain. Quieter than Cardrona, harder, and the locals' weekday choice in winter. Closed in summer.

Optical illusion rooms, a 3D maze and the leaning tower on the road in from Cromwell. Family-friendly, deeply nostalgic, and the genuine rainy-day plan. Allow two hours.

Free public lake-swimming spots along the town foreshore and at Bremner Bay just west, with crystal-clear glacial water and a long shallow shelf safe for kids. Officially the most refreshing thing you can do on a hot Wanaka day.

Half-day cruise from the marina to Ruby Island, a small bush-covered island in the middle of the lake with a short walking track to a panoramic lookout. Catamaran operators offer this; the lake-and-mountains backdrop is the experience.

Open-air evening market on Pembroke Park on Wednesdays in summer, with food trucks, music and craft stalls. The locals' midweek dinner-and-drinks-out plan. Closed in winter.

Tandem skydives over the lake from up to 15,000ft, with the Southern Alps and Mt Aspiring filling the view on the free-fall. Smaller operation than Taupo or Queenstown but the scenery is the strongest in the country.

Guided and self-guided lakeside bike tours along the Te Araroa Trail and Glendhu Bay path, with eBikes available and pickup at either end. The right way to see the lake's western shore without committing to a full hike.

Half-day boat tour from the marina to Mou Waho island, a predator-free conservation reserve in the middle of the lake. Twenty-minute walk to a small upper lake (a lake on an island in a lake) and the chance to plant a native tree. Conservation-funded.

Specifically the 3D maze inside Puzzling World, large enough that getting out takes an hour and small enough that you do not feel lost. The kid magnet within the kid magnet.

A crack willow growing out of the lake shallows that became the country's most-photographed tree via Instagram. Five minutes from the town centre, free, and a near-mandatory dawn or dusk stop. The shore lookout at the Wanaka Watersports Facility is the standard angle.

The grass-and-shingle promenade along the lake's southern shore between town and the marina, with the Southern Alps as the backdrop. Locals run, swim and picnic here. The single best free thing to do in town, especially on a still summer evening.

Stuart Landsborough's Puzzling World, on the road in from Cromwell, has been turning brains inside out since 1973. Optical illusion rooms, a giant 3D maze, and the leaning Tower of Wanaka. Kitschy and self-aware. The genuine rainy-day plan and unironically fun.

Lake-facing biodynamic vineyard a short drive out of town with arguably the most beautiful tasting-room view in the country: terraced vines, then the lake, then Mt Aspiring. Cellar door tastings are free, the wines genuinely good. The wine stop in Wanaka.

A working lavender farm 10 minutes from town with a lavender-themed gelato counter, a small honey-bee education area, and a clipped purple field that looks like Provence in January. Touristy and short, but a pleasant 60 minutes when the lavender is in flower.

A short steep climb (4.5km loop, 90 minutes) on the eastern edge of town to a low summit with panoramic views down to the lake and out to the Cardrona ridge. Free, no booking, and the easier alternative to Roys Peak for a Wanaka panorama.

A roadside pull-off on the highway between Wanaka and Hawea where the lake reveals itself as a turquoise wedge below blue ranges. Five minutes from town in the right car, an icon stop. Walk a few hundred metres along the rim for the best angle.

The town's original craft brewery, on the Wanaka-Luggate Highway at the Toy Museum site, family-run for over two decades. Tap room is unpretentious and the beers are the kind locals drink, not the kind made for tourists. Worth the short drive.

The small public marina and watersports centre at the foot of town, with paddle-board hire, dinghies, kayaks, and the launch point for the lake cruises. The natural starting point if your day involves water.

Vast warehouse out by the airport, with one of the world's largest private collections of vintage planes, cars, military vehicles and toys. The size is the surprise — six hangars and a single hour will not be enough. Slightly chaotic and the better for it.