Pigeon Island is an awesome 1.7 km2 (170 hectare) island in the middle of Lake Wakatipu. Everyone is free to visit making it a fun place for either a day or overnight trip.

While many people will drive the Queenstown to Glenorchy Road and see both Pigeon and Pig Island, not many people know that you can stay on Pigeon Island in the hut, or camp on the open field next to the hut. And then even fewer actually do it.

There are not a whole lot of activities to do on the island per se, this is a magical spot and I loved my night on the island. It’s a great way to escape Queenstown.

This post will help you plan your trip to Pigeon Island.

HOW TO GET TO PIGEON ISLAND

There’s no public transport option to Pigeon Island. If you have your own boat, that’s an easy way to get to the island, but most people will kayak which is always f. Or if you’re a strong swimmer, you can do that.

The best launching point for kayaks is here at the Lake Face Creek carpark.

The total distance from there is about 2 kilometres to the Pigeon Island landing spot.

Three of us went to Pigeon Island, two people were in my Intex inflatable kayak and another swam. The conditions certainly weren’t ideal on the day we went. This is often the case in the afternoons on Lake Wakatipu, the breeze picks up.

We were prepared to not go to the island if we weren’t comfortable with the conditions. But we made it safely. We took it super cruisey on the way over as we didn’t want to tip over with all the gear on board!

Pro tip: On the journey over, look behind you to find a couple of landmarks so it makes navigation on the return journey easier.

When you’re leaving, you’re ideal landing point is going to be on the left side of the island as you can see from my Strava recording above. Keep that in mind as you’re paddling.

The mornings on the lake are usually a lot calmer, we had mint conditions on our return. I’ve written about kayaking in Queenstown before.

STAYING ON THE ISLAND

There are two options to stay on the island. You can stay at the Smith’s Hut or camp on the large open space next to the hut.

The 10 bed hut is currently owned by Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC), and while it’s free to stay at, you need to book the hut online. What you’ll find though, is the hut is almost always booked. That was the case for us, so we took our tents and bivvy along planning to camp.

But once we arrived on the island, we were the only ones there! How good. So we had the 10 person hut to ourselves!

The hut is sweet! There are plates, cups, and a little bit of cutlery, though I’d still bring your own just in case. And there’s no water tanks at the hut, so you’ll need to bring your own or boil up lake water.

If you’re camping, there’s ample space to do so with a few picnic benches around the island. Be aware when you’re setting up camp and eating food though…there is plenty of weka around ready to steal your food.

THE PIGEON ISLAND EXPERIENCE

After the harrowing kayak to Pigeon Island, the bay where we landed was surprisingly calm, and the evening was going to be just lovely.

We put the kayak up off the beach, and quickly found the hut which is just beyond the signs you see as you come into land. We were so surprised to find we were the only ones at the hut. We got there at about 7.30 pm, so figured it’d be unlikely anyone else would show up after us.

The hut is so cool! There’s a big bench, a couple of couches, things to read, lights (solar powered), some kitchenware and a fireplace. And 10 mattresses on two levels. The mattresses are nicer than the DOC ones too…they’re super fancy looking, and comfy.

After dumping our bags, we were off to the summit to check out the sunset. The tracks are signposted and start just a little bit beyond the hut. We made it to the summit in about 15 minutes at a push, going up the steep route. And we were super impressed with the views! It was glorious knowing we were the only people on the island, and the sunset was decent!

After we returned to the hut we started a fire, made some food and enjoyed each others company before crashing reasonably early. The hut wasn’t cold at all thanks to the fire heating up the hut.

The next morning one mate got up and walked to the summit to do some sunrise yoga, but the other two of us slept through the early magic (I caught a glimpse above) and eventually got around to making breakfast.

We then went for a jog around the loop on the island. It’s an easy-to-navigate loop with defined trails. But there were quite a few sections where ferns lay across the trail waiting to trip us up. And a few sections of gorse spewing onto the track ready to give you a cheeky morning scratch.

There’s about 250 metres of elevation on the loop (Strava file here), so it’s definitely not flat. The best view is from the summit which you’ll know when you’re there because of the trig.

But you do get various viewpoints in different directions on the way up…it’s an interesting walk. And different to many of the other hikes around Queenstown given some of the plantlife around.

The highlights in terms of plantlife for me were all the Lancewoods at various stages of growth, all the gerns, and as much as gorse is annoying, we picked some blackberries!

After our jog, we packed up our gear, tidied the hut then made our way to the waters edge for the kayak and swim back to the mainland. It was such a beautiful morning making the return journey much less stressful, and easier.

FURTHER FAQ’S

Is there reception on the island?

There is at the summit of the island an a couple of hundred metres either side. There’s none at the hut. FWIW, I use a Skinny Mobile sim card.

Is the island safe?

There’s no reason it’s not safe. The lake level doesn’t effect the hut as such, nor like anywhere else in NZ there are no dangerous animals. The only worry if any is fire on the island…this won’t happen if you’re responsible, but there have been two fires on the island in the past. The gorse bushes aren’t fun though!

Can you goto neighbouring Pig Island?

Yeap, it’s only a short distance from the end of Pigeon Island and apparently you can walk between the two! I didn’t try that though. Pig Island is a lot flatter than Pigeon Island and less interesting.

Can you swim on Pigeon Island?

Yeap. There’s nothing stopping you…obviously take precautions with currents/rips etc. We didn’t but the bay looked like a lovely spot to do that.

Is there two huts on Pigeon Island?

Yes, there is and the one you can see first is the private hut which you can’t stay in. You can walk to it and check it out though.

A FEW MORE PIGEON ISLAND PHOTOS

---

Whether you’re looking for an interesting day trip from Queenstown or an overnight adventure, Pigeon Island is one to consider.

If you’ve got any questions or comments about visiting Pigeon Island, leave a message below or email jub@churnewzealand.com.