The area around Wanaka, and most of the places in the mountainous areas of New Zealand, are really unique. There is little to no vegetation on them except grasses and alpine tussock which means that whereever you are, you can see for miles around you. One of the best views that I’ve found to soak up these views is from the top of Coromandel Peak, which is where this photo is taken from. Lots of people think that this is view is from Roy’s Peak, but it’s actually further down the ridge than Roy’s Peak. There also isn’t a trail that leads here like there is up Mount Roy so it takes some strategic route-finding to get yourself to this point.

The view out across the lake with all of the islands and peaks rising straight out of the water, however, is probably my favourite that I’ve found in New Zealand so far. Being in places like this that are quite difficult to access always make me wonder what it would be like to have a helicopter so that you could visit all of the peaks in an area and see exactly what the view is like from all of the different points. It always seems impossible to tell what the view from a certain spot is actually going to be until you stand there yourself. I guess that’s the fun part of hiking and exploring.