A can of Sidekick is a treat at the car, the lakefront, or town. It is not hydration. On Roys Peak or Ben Lomond there is no water on the track, no shade, and nowhere to leave an empty.
This is a packing note, not a summit recipe.
Water first
Carry more water than the walk looks like it needs. DOC’s Roys Peak and Ben Lomond pages say the same thing: no water on the track, full-day heat, alpine weather. Two litres is a start on the big ones, not a flex.
The soda does not replace that. Honey-sweetened fruit soda is still soda. Drink it when you are done walking.
When the can comes
Easy walks — Mount Iron, Queenstown Hill, Waterfall Creek, the lakefront. A 250 ml can in the pack is fine if you will drink it at the lookout and carry the empty down. Sit, drink, pack it out. Do not leave it by the sculpture or the photo rock.
Full-day peaks — Roys Peak, Isthmus Peak, Ben Lomond. Leave the can in the car or for town. Extra weight on a 1,200 m climb is a poor joke, and a crushed can at a summit is litter. Best views in Wānaka and Best views in Queenstown are the track notes.
Pack it out
Empty can in the pack, not beside the stile. Private farmland on Roys Peak and Isthmus Peak; private land on Queenstown Hill and the Ben Lomond summit stretch. Stay on the marked track. Dogs are not allowed on Roys Peak.
If you want the drink with a view and no climb, that is the lake from town — or a stockist. Where to drink Sidekick in Wānaka. Where to drink Sidekick in Queenstown.
What to put in it
Cherry after a hot climb. Pear next to a lake. One can. You are not stocking a cooler on a saddle — that list is how to stock an alcohol-free cooler.
- What to drink hiking in New Zealand — water on any NZ track; the can is for after.
- After the walk in Wānaka and Queenstown — Cherry after the hill, Pear by the lake.
- Honey soda for a South Island trip — pack from Wānaka or Queenstown for Milford, Abel Tasman, and the rest of the island.
- A weekend in Wānaka and a weekend in Queenstown if you are staying, not just walking.
- Shop or Fridge Fill for a 12-pack at home.
- Recipes if you want a cocktail or mocktail at the house.
