Roys Peak (1578 m) and Mount Alpha (1630 m)

The Roys Peak track is an official track from the Department Of Conservation in New Zealand.

This track follows the official Roys Peak track all the way to the top of Roys Peak and then it continues for another 2.4 Kilometres to get to the summit of Mount Alpha.

The track starts at the purpose-built Roys Peak Track Parking. It is quite a big parking but since this is such a popular track you will find it quite crowded most of the time, no matter what time you get there. This track is so popular that you cannot say you have been in Wanaka if you have not seen the Wanaka tree and climbed Roys Peak.
From the car park we can already see the antenna at the summit of Roys Peak.
At the corner of the car park, where the track starts, there is an honesty box that states that you have to pay 2 NZD to walk this track.
About 70 meters from starting the track you will find a toilet.

The track is very wide from start to end. There is no way someone can get lost following this track. In fact you are going to see hundreds of people walking up and down the track all day long. I found some people who started at 5 am and also a group that started at 3:30 am.
The track zig-zags with some steep sections but is quite wide and easy all the time.

At about 400 meters to the summit we have the option to continue on the track or take a more direct route that gets onto the ridge. Following the ridge is the way this mountain used to be climbed but since it is quite steep and narrow and since the mountain became so popular DOC probably decided to create a not so steep and wider way of getting to the summit. This GPS track follows both ways. It goes up on the direct ridge and it comes down following the longer and less steep official track.

During pretty much all the ascent you are going to enjoy fantastic views of lake Wanaka. From the summit the views are even more spectacular if possible.
From the summit of Roys Peak, looking South East, we can see our next destination, Mount Alpha.

To get to Mount Alpha we just follow the narrow track that is also marked with orange poles from DOC. The track to Mount Alpha is not difficult but it's not as easy as the one that took us to the top of Roys Peak. You are probably going to see no one on this part.
First we lose about 100 meters of elevation on a steep section and then we have to regain those 100 meters plus another 300 meters more. Again going up is quite steep. At some spots it gets even narrower with some drop on one side or the other. Walking with a bit of care there is no problem at all.
Next we get to a rocky section where again it gets steeper. On rainy days we should be extra careful because it could get quite slippery.
One last effort and we get to the top of Mount Alpha. The summit is quite wide and rounded. We can see a signpost. Again fantastic views of Wanaka and the lake and also Roys Peak.
The track still continues further and it's probably possible to go down that way but we decide to go back the same way we came up.
There are 2.45 kilometres from one summit to the other one.
We need to go down and up again to get back to Roys Peak summit and then down all the way from here.

In summary, an easy track that we cannot miss if we happen to be in Wanaka and we want to enjoy the amazing views of the lake from the top of these mountains.



Full description and more pictures at Back from Summit: Roys Peak