Wanaka: The Lake Wanaka Region

Neville Peat

Reviewed By Dorothy - 16/01/03

Wanaka: The Lake Wanaka Region written by Neville Peat is a valuable guide for any visitor to the area, with clear and relevant information about the history, mountains, weather, walks, fishing, skiing and wildlife, but it is also an excellent read for the armchair traveller.

A planning guide and a timesaver
This book helps the visitor to make best use of time in Wanaka by providing ready access to helpful information. This starts on the contents page where as well as clear outlines of the content of each chapter there is a list of the addresses of the information centres at Wanaka and at Makarora. The information covers the area from Cardrona to Mount Aspiring National Park, Lake Hawea and the Haast Road as far as the Blue Pools.

A range of topics

History
The section on Wanaka's history includes information about the geology of the area without swamping the reader with too much complex detail, pre-European Maori use of the district for settlement or as a camping place on foraging expeditions in search of food, and European activity from the 1850s to the present day. Neville Peat tells how farming, gold digging, logging and tourism brought Europeans to the area in the early period, but now farming and tourism are the main activities, with phenomenal growth in visitor numbers and house building as the twenty first century begins. The Wanaka streets resound with languages from all round the world.

Activities around the town
The history section with its excellent photos, provides the backdrop for the second chapter, Town and Around which describes the permanent attractions and events in Wanaka itself - museums, the Great Maze, the beerworks, the New Year's Eve party, the Rodeo in January, the Rippon Festival of rock music, the Upper Clutha Agricultural and Pastoral Show, the biennial international Easter air show, Warbirds over Wanaka, and the snow carnival. Clear and interesting details are given about parks and facilities, and short drives and their attractions, with a colourful relief map of the area.

A region made for walking
This chapter includes detailed descriptions of a wide range of walks with times and realistic ratings of the difficulty. The beautiful photos are an incentive to put walking on your holiday programme.

Water, Air, Winter
Under this topic Neville Peat outlines the range of water activities available and refers boat owners to Lakes Wanaka & Hawea Boating Guide published by the Queenstown Lakes District Council - a book packed with information about the rules and facilities for safe boating in the area.

Up in the air sightseeing flights, aerobatics, tandem skydiving and paragliding are described.

Details are given of islands to be visited, fishing spots and skifields.

The Wild Side
Birds, plants and lizards are the subject of the last chapter in this overview of Wanaka and what it offers.

A strong recommendation
Neville Peat's books have guided thousands of visitors around southern New Zealand. I strongly recommend buying a copy of Wanaka: The Lake Wanaka Region whether you are planning to spend a holiday in the area, to pass through it en routs to the West Coast or just enjoy armchair travel with a well-illustrated book about a truly beautiful area of New Zealand. Like the area it describes, this book is worth visiting and re-visiting.

Wanaka: The Lake Wanaka Region Neville Peat University of Otago Press ISBN: 1 877276 35 9 Colour illustrations 64 pages, NZ$19.95