18.12.2017: Rob Roy Glacier - a highlight!

At 9:00 am, our fully booked minibus departs from the iSite Wanaka for the 50 km journey to Raspberry Creek Carpark. The last 30 km is a rough gravel road that will shake you up. You'll have to cross 9 cattle stops and navigate 10 fords, although 9 of them are dry due to the lack of rain. The Matukituki Rivers' bed is also largely dry. Good for tourism, bad for nature.

We will be picked up from the carpark in 4.5 hours. The track is marked as 10 km (3-4 h). Since we are not usually the fastest, I often stop for photos, and we want to take a lunch break at the destination, we initially get ahead of the others from the bus, cross a suspension bridge after a short while, and then hike through the forest. The trail is not difficult itself but has a few steep sections. After the second photo stop, others start passing us again. There is a lower and upper glacier viewing point. It is worth stopping at the lower one first, which provides a side view of a part of the glacier, because then the upper viewing point, which shows the glacier in all its glory, will be even more impressive.

Arriving at the end point of the hike, we enjoy our packed lunch, take many pictures, and primarily admire the great panorama. I count 15 waterfalls from melted ice - it's a wonder that there is still so much glacier left in the summer heat and it hasn't melted away completely. After 45 minutes, we unfortunately have to say goodbye because the shuttle bus awaits us in 1.5 hours. The return journey is easier as it mostly downhill. We take a little break on the bench with the beautiful view before taking on the last stretch. The bus is already waiting for us, picking up very happy excursionists. We could not have chosen a better day for the Rob Roy Glacier Track.