Hike to Rob Roy Glacier. | Should You do it? | New Zealand
- Elisa.
- Jan 12, 2020
- 2 min read
An hour drive from Wanaka, there are another nice hike to do - Rob Roy Glacier hike. The hour drive to the car park where the hike starts is quite interesting itself. The last 30 km are unsealed. The last 10 km is a gravel road that is mostly good only in fine weather. It subject to washouts and flooded creeks that can be impassable. We were concerned that our minivan will not be able to pass the many streems that crosses the road. Unfortunately there were no rain for the last couple of days, so we decided to risk it. Turned out our car was high enough to cross all of them. Always check road conditions before you leave. If your plan to stay there for couple of days, I would suggest to stock up some food, just in case the road gets flooded and you can't get back when planned.
The road takes you through a nice valley with high cliff walls and waterfals. There are a lot of sheep roaming around and it looks quite idillic. The valley reminded me other glaciers, and I am guessing that it was once filled with ice and snow like others.
About 15 minutes from the Raspberry Flat car park (you can also camp there if you are self contained), we crosed a swing bridge across the West Matukituki River. The track climbs through a small gorge into beech forest. The track is less than 10 km (both ways) long and very easy. It takes only 3-4 hours both ways (depending of rest stops). There are no steep sections and the path is well formed.
At the head of the valley we reached our destination with a good views of the Rob Roy Glacier. This track offers dramatic alpine landscapes that includes mossy forests, snowfields, glaciers, sheer rock cliffs and waterfalls. The weather was a bit grey that day, but at least it wasn't raining.
The views are even more spectacular in a sunny day. There are lower and upper lookout trail, we chose lower, but you can take your time and do both. They both are similar lenght, but offers different views of the Glacier.
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