After the walk, the drink is in town or at the car. Cherry after a hot climb. Pear next to the lake. Sidekick is a honey-sweetened soda from Wānaka. Queenstown is the next valley. Neither hill is a place to treat soda as water.
This is the serve, not a cocktail. Mixing in a glass belongs on Recipes — once, at the house. Not on Roys Peak.
The hill
How to pack a trail can is the rule: water on the climb, can after, pack the empty out.
Wānaka. Roys Peak is the full day — closed 1 October to 10 November for lambing. Mount Iron is the town walk. Diamond Lake if you are heading west. Best views in Wānaka. Check DOC.
Queenstown. Ben Lomond is the full day. Queenstown Hill is the town walk. The lakefront if you do not want a climb. Best views in Queenstown. Check DOC.
Cherry is the after-the-hill can. Bright, cold, done. You earned the sugar that is already in the honey and the fruit. You did not earn a diet lecture.
The lake
Pear by the water. Quieter. Deck, bay, or the car park above the track.
In Wānaka the lake is the point of town — Edgewater sits on it. After Mount Iron, Albert Town is five minutes: Pembroke Pâtisserie or White Rabbit Cakes. Town-centre: Federal Diner and Muttonbird. The rest sit on Where to drink Sidekick in Wānaka. Ask staff.
In Queenstown the lakefront serve is The Bathhouse on Marine Parade. Airport if you are flying: Airspresso. Frankton dinner: SUNDAYS. Pools and Saturday market on Where to drink Sidekick in Queenstown.
Mango and Strawberry are the other two. Core four. No Watermelon on this page. No cane sugar, no stevia, no erythritol.
If the rental has a fridge
A 12-pack is the after-walk for the rest of the weekend. Shop or Fridge Fill. A weekend in Wānaka and a weekend in Queenstown if you are staying, not just walking.
Hiking the rest of the island: What to drink hiking in New Zealand. Packing for Milford or Abel Tasman: Honey soda for a South Island trip.
