Summer & V.
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Absolutely loved this hike!!!! We started at 6:45AM on Jan 31 and had the trail mostly to ourselves. You don’t need to go for sunrise (Lake Wanaka actually gets more blue as the day goes on), but definitely start early before it gets too hot - and bring lots of sun protection as there’s zero shade. The climb is cardiovascularly challenging (relentlessly steep) but the descent is brutal on the knees and quads. We were sore for days.
The famous viewpoint about 1.5km below the summit is stunning, but I HIGHLY recommend pushing on to the actual summit. You’re exhausted at that point, but the 360-degree views are absolutely worth it! It took us 2h20 to the first viewpoint and another 30 mins to get to the summit. It only took us 2h05 to descend but we were moving pretty quickly. We spent 35 mins between the two viewpoints. We’re in our early 30s and probably completed this a bit faster than average. I hope this is helpful :)