October 2024 Update: The Rob Roy Glacier Track bridge is open, you’re good to go again 🙂

The Rob Roy Glacier Track is a popular ~11km out-and-back hike/walk to a viewpoint where you can see the stunning Rob Roy Glacier.

This post will give you details about one of the best walks in Wanaka, and what you can expect along with a few tips and tricks I learned along the way.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Details About The Rob Roy Glacier Track
2. Rob Roy Glacier Track Map
3. How To Get To The Trailhead
4. My Experience On The Rob Roy Track

1. DETAILS ABOUT THE ROB ROY GLACIER TRACK

How hard is the Rob Roy Glacier Track?

Easy – medium. The track is one of the most famous walks in the South Island is easy to follow and there’s less than 500 metres of elevation. That said, if you’re not used to hiking you might feel your leg muscles the next day.

How far is the Rob Roy Glacier Track?

My Strava recording says the track is 11.2km return. That’s without going off the trail or exploring beyond the viewpoint at all. The DOC website says it’s 10km return, so plan to walk in the 10-12km range.

What is the Rob Roy Glacier Track elevation?

The Strava recording gave me 457 metres of elevation gain. Almost all of that is enroute to the upper viewpoint. On the way back you’re pretty much going all downhill. I’ve popped the elevation profile below:

What’s the Rob Roy Glacier track time?

It took us 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to the upper viewpoint. We were a group of eight with a range of walking experiences, but no one really struggled. There was lots of stopping and starting while we waited for others to catch up and whatnot. We then spent about two hours at the top! The walk back took about 1 hour and 20 minutes so 2 hours 50 minutes of walking time.

DOC recommends 3-4 hours of walking time. This is probably about right for most people if you include 20-30 minutes at the upper viewpoint (you won’t spend long at the lower viewpoint).

Is the Rob Roy Track closed?

Yes. After reopening in Feb 2021 after a major slip. The track has been closed again as the bridge needs to be replaced and repaired. This is not going to happen before March 2024 at the earliest.

2. ROB ROY GLACIER TRACK MAP

Clicking on the map below will open it up in a new tab where you can scroll around etc.

The map above is the GPX file from Strava overlaid on a topo map. Note, you’ll see the black and red lines diverge. That’s where the major damage was and they’ve rerouted the track.

That said, you don’t need a map or anything for the Rob Roy Glacier walk. It’s clearly signposted and easy to follow. That’s always going to be the case when upwards of 20,000 people are doing the track each year.

3. HOW TO GET TO THE TRAILHEAD

The trailhead for the Rob Roy Glacier Track is at the Raspberry Flat Car Park at the end of Wanaka-Mount Aspiring Road. The car park is massive as it’s also the starting point to other hikes in Mount Aspiring National Park.

The last 30km or so of the Wanaka-Mount Aspiring Road is a gravel road. The gravel road starts close to the Treble Cone turnoff which is a little over 20km from Wanaka.

Google Maps says the drive time from Wanaka to the Raspberry Flat car park is nearly two hours. While it’s slow going on the gravel road, we didn’t take that long. It was about 1 hour 20 minutes for us. That said, the creeks were very low. If there’s been rain recently, it wouldn’t be so fun driving through them.

Two hours would be the maximum drive time though. Despite being a gravel road, it didn’t appear people were too concerned about their vehicle choice based on the cars we saw in the car park.

4. MY ROB ROY TRACK REVIEW

As a group, we were excited to be on the Rob Roy Glacier Track less than two weeks after reopening.

I was super surprised at how busy the car park was and thought that the majority of the cars would be from people experiencing the Rob Roy Glacier, like us. That didn’t seem to be the case as we saw maybe 30 people on the track. Meaning dozens were out exploring the other tracks over the weekend like the French Ridge and/or Liverpool Hut tracks.

After reading the signs about Mount Aspiring National Park we set off on the trail following the West Matukituki River. I was a little nervous we might somehow end up on the wrong track but that was irrational of me.

You simply follow the track next to the river for about 1.5km until you get to the swingbridge.

After crossing the swing bridge, there’s only one track.

We were under the forest canopy on a gentle incline. For some reason, I was expecting us to emerge from the forest canopy after a few hundred metres and we’d be left with epic views for the rest of the hike.

Instead, we got to a cool viewpoint (the photo above) before reentering the forest canopy where we’d be climbing through for the next couple of kilometres.

The forest is beautiful there’s no doubt about that, but I guess I just was expecting more views of the surroundings.

We were making good time, but it was definitely steeper than I expected. It’s an easy hiking track in terms of terrain. It doesn’t have the status of being a great walk but is well-maintained.

After nearly 3.4km you’ll hit the stairs. These stairs are a new addition to the track. They’re steep, but there aren’t hundreds of them. Grit your teeth and get it done.

From here you’ve got another 500 metres or so until you reach the lower lookout. Once again, it’s just a steady climb.

The lower lookout has a few benches for you to take a break with your first view of the glacier through the trees (see above).

If you’re considering turning around here, don’t! You’re not far from the top, and you get way better views from the upper lookout. You’ve got less than 1.5km to go from here!

You’ll notice the forest canopy getting lighter which is a good sign. Then it’s time for the most technical part of the hike, a dry river bed you need to cross. It’s a mix of boulder and rock hopping for about 50 metres.

You’ll then meet the Rob Roy Stream shortly after the dry riverbed which is a good spot to either fill up your bottles or jump in for a swim if you’re brave enough…she’s cold.

From here you’ll be at the top before you know it as you fully emerge from the forest canopy.

You’ll know when you’re at the upper viewpoint when you see a couple of information boards explaining what you’re looking at.

There’s no large manicured area where you can chill out which surprised me. But there are plenty of rocks in the surrounding area you can easily scramble onto as you take in the epicness of the glacier.

If you’re planning to get awesome Rob Roy Track photos, I’d recommend going earlier in the day. The lighting isn’t great when the sun is up in the middle of the afternoon.

This is the end of the trail technically, but there are some remnants of tracks that continue closer to the river. They are easy tracks to follow, and if you’re pretty tired at this viewpoint, there’s no need to go further. Though I’d love to get closer to the glacier, as you do on the Earnslaw Burn Track.

RELATED: GLACIER HIKES IN NEW ZEALAND

We ended up spending a couple of hours up here as a group. Some of us went exploring, others napped, ate food, etc. It was a cool spot to hand out. There are a couple of spots where you can find shade, but if it’s summer…bring your sunblock.

On the descent, it’s pretty easy going and those worried about their knees should be okay. Perhaps you’ll want to take a swim in the river? We were planning to…but we ended up spending too long at the viewpoint so had to keep moving to get back to Wanaka.

Just remember you’ve got an hour-plus drive back to Wanaka. But the car park is also a freedom camping spot, so if you have a campervan equipped for that you might find you’ll be spending the night out here.

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I can understand why the Rob Roy Glacier Track is popular. It’s:

• not overly long
• in a National Park
• not too bad elevation wise
• looks good on the gram
• is a track that has good
• views of a glacier!

But if I’m honest, did it live up to the hype? Yes and no. The glacier is cool (you can see it from afar on the Sharks Tooth Peak hike too), but when you consider a track like Earnslaw gets you close up to the glacier (granted the hike is a lot more difficult) then it’s hard to be WOWED by Rob Roy.

Maybe do Rob Roy first if you plan on doing both 😉

Anyway, I’d love to hear about your Roy Roy Track experience. Drop a comment below.

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