Mou Waho Island Cruise and Island Walk on Lake Wanaka

Lake Wanaka cruise from Wanaka Marina

The tour starts at Wanaka Marina on Lakeside Road, a short walk from the town centre, where the water taxi collects you from the main jetty. Lake Wanaka is the fourth-largest lake in New Zealand, about 45 kilometres long and more than 300 metres deep, filling a basin carved by glaciers during the last ice age and ringed by the peaks of Mount Aspiring National Park. The crossing to Mou Waho takes you up the lake past bays and headlands that are impossible to see from the road.

Your guide uses the journey to explain how the glaciers shaped the valley, how the lake's islands formed and who lived and farmed along its shores, with a couple of stops at the most photogenic spots. The water is often glassy in the morning, which makes the 10:00 departure a favourite for photos of the mountains reflected in the lake.

Mou Waho Island nature reserve

Mou Waho is the largest and most distant of the islands in Lake Wanaka and is protected as a scenic reserve with no permanent residents and no predators. Rats, stoats and other introduced pests have been removed, so native birds that have vanished from much of the mainland thrive here: the weka, a charismatic flightless bird reintroduced through a breeding programme in 2002, the kererū or wood pigeon, the bellbird (korimako) with its chiming song and the small tomtit.

When you land you have about two hours to explore in your own way. A well-marked track leads up from the jetty through native bush, with benches along the way, and the weka often come to investigate visitors; please do not feed or touch them. The island is a rare chance to see what New Zealand's forests sounded like before people arrived, and the guide's commentary on the boat prepares you for what to look for.

Arethusa Pool, the hidden lake on the island

The highlight of a Mou Waho Island tour is Arethusa Pool, a small lake sitting in a hollow near the top of the island, about 150 metres above Lake Wanaka. It was created by glacial action thousands of years ago, and it holds a tiny island of its own, which gives rise to the island's famous description: an island on a lake, on an island in a lake, on an island in the sea.

The walk from the beach to Arethusa Pool takes about 20 minutes. It is steep and rocky in places but short, and benches along the way let you rest, so most reasonably mobile visitors manage it comfortably; walking poles are provided. At the top the still water reflects the surrounding beech trees and rock, and on a calm day it is one of the most photographed spots in the Wanaka region.

Tyrwhitt Peak and the island beach

Five minutes beyond Arethusa Pool the track reaches Tyrwhitt Peak, the highest point of Mou Waho. From here the whole of Lake Wanaka opens out below you, with the jagged peaks of the Southern Alps, the snowfields of the Mount Aspiring area and the bare golden hills around Wanaka township, a panorama that rewards the climb many times over and the best place on the tour for a wide landscape photo.

Back down at the landing, the island's small sheltered beach is the place to relax before the water taxi returns. In summer the clear water of Lake Wanaka is perfect for a refreshing swim, so bring swimwear and a towel, and children can complete their activity sheets while the adults enjoy the view. Guests who prefer not to walk uphill can simply spend their time on the beach and watch the birdlife.