Wanaka

Wānaka grew up as a gold mining town on the shores of Lake Wānaka in New Zealand’s South Island, and that frontier feel still lingers despite its popularity today. It serves as the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park, with skiing in winter and hiking through the summer months drawing visitors back year after year, some eventually for good. We rate it as a quieter, less built-up alternative to Queenstown, with much of the same scenery on its doorstep.