What to do in Wanaka on a rainy day
Wānaka gets sold on blue skies and the tree in the lake, so when it rains people take it personally. Rain is when the valley is at its best. Every waterfall on the walls of the Matukituki starts running, the cloud sits halfway down the peaks, the river goes a colour you will not find in the brochure, and it is quiet up there. We run in most weather. What stops a trip is the river level, not the rain, and if the river is too high we cancel and refund you in full.
We supply the wet-weather gear, the boat has heated handrails, and the walk is under beech forest, which is the driest place in the valley on a wet day. Wear something warm underneath, a hat, and shoes you do not mind getting muddy. Kids tend to love it.
The rest of a wet day, in the order we would do it: Puzzling World on the way into town, which is better than it sounds and takes a couple of hours with kids. Cinema Paradiso, with the couches and the cookies at half time. The Wānaka Lakes Centre pool. The library on Dunmore Street, warm and free. The cafés and bakeries along Ardmore Street and the lakefront, which is where we leave from, with the playground next door. Rippon and the other cellar doors, if the kids are not with you. The lakefront walk to the tree in a jacket, because it looks better in the rain than it does on a postcard. And the 12:45pm boat, so the morning is indoors and the afternoon is in the valley.
$359 per adult, $229 per child aged 4 to 14, walk and gear included. Ages four and up. Book online, nothing is charged until you confirm, and ring us on +64 3 443 4416 if you want a local read on the weather before you do. Trip details on the Wanaka jet boat and wilderness walk page.
Boarding is from the riverbank with a hand from the guide, there is a step and a handrail. About an hour of walking at a gentle pace, and you can stay by the boat instead. Bring a warm layer, a hat and closed shoes; we supply life jackets and wet-weather gear. Minimum age four. If we call a trip off for river levels you are refunded in full.
Book the Jet Boat and Wilderness Walk
Quick answers
Do jet boat trips run in the rain?
Yes, in most rain. River level is what decides it. If we cancel, you get a full refund or we move you to another day.
Will I get wet?
A bit, on the spins, and the rain gear takes care of the rest. Bring warm layers; the boat is open and it moves.
Is the walk muddy in the rain?
Sometimes. It is about an hour at an easy pace under beech forest, and you can stay by the boat if you prefer.
What is there to do in Wānaka when it rains with kids?
Puzzling World, the cinema, the pool, the library, and the jet boat, which takes kids from four and supplies the gear.
See also Wānaka in winter and the Matukituki Valley.