Isthmus Peak Track

My mate and I did this hike last week just before the snow storm hit Central Otago region. We have done several hikes in NZ and around the globe and this is my favourite day hike. Started off from Queenstown at 4:30 am and got to the car park around 6-ish. We were hoping gas stations in Wanaka might be open to buy some food but they weren’t. Lucky we packed some snacks and drinks the night before. It was a beautiful crisp spring morning. Like others have said it is challenging right from the word go. But the scenery makes up for it. Initially it will feel like a bush walk and you will come across cute little lambs and other farm animals which means you will have to dodge a lot of poo so watch your step. After that, the track gets a bit more challenging and exposed but the views get better and better. The last 1-1.5 hours of our ascent to the peak was covered in snow and it was just magical looking at the mountains and Lake Hawea down below thinking how lucky we are in NZ ! We were the only 2 humans on the track and we got to the top around 9ish. It was quite windy at the peak so after some quick photos and throwing fresh snow at each other we made our way down. We pretty much ran/ jogged down and came across some human traffic going up and finished the hike in 5 hours 40 minutes with lots of stops for photos and food. When we got to the car park just before midday we still saw people just starting off - don’t know why they would do this hike in the hot sun with absolutely no shade on the trail. We carried small daypacks with 2 litres of water, Up n Go and some muesli bars. Clothing wise I wore a running shirt and shorts and a fleece jacket which I got rid off after about 1 hour of climbing and of course my sturdy pair of hiking boots. This is a hike I’d wanna come back and do again - it was just magical with all the snow. #awesomepic #couplestrip #deliciousfood #nyedestinations