I cannot hide my excitement. I spent a bit (a lot) of time wanting to send this first newsletter, thinking about the topics, the design, everything - and then postponed it for like, a few days (forever).
But here I am, at last.
I had a bit of a ping-pong between doing only one topic, or several, or however many. I guess as it’s the first one, I should start by giving a bit of background on me and what I do, and then give you a bit of variety.
First things first: Let’s go on a first name basis
Well… I do feel a bit vulnerable. Let’s start with the basics:
I’m Maki
I’m a photographer (duh, you knew that)
I bring a lifetime love for the outdoors to the table. I also bring the hot chips.
And, I’m coming back as Jimmy Chin in my next life. Full stop.
Phew, that wasn’t too bad.
Well, seriously now - let me tell you a bit of the backstory.
I recently took my lifelong love for hiking and started nurturing it. I made the decision to stop ignoring this part of myself on April 2023, and in this last year I started going on more and more walks and, doing photoshoots on the trail, and I went on my first EVER solo-hikes.
It happened slowly, and it took me a bit of time to get out of my comfort zone and face full-on the changes that I needed to do in my life to make this a reality. But it’s happening – I’ve actually gone a really long way in just over a year.
And if you know me, you’ll know I’m extremely self-critical, and for me to admit that is a really big thing.
Now, let’s get to that party I was talking about, cos you ain’t lazy:
Hike, review, repeat.
You know when all your hiking goals are within reach – but unfortunately, so is Netflix? Get inspired to get your bum outside with my very detailed track reviews.
Roy’s Peak lookout
Roy’s Peak has become an extremely popular hike because of, I believe, social media. It’s very accessible (just 2 or 3km from Wanaka), it’s not technical at all (other than duration maybe), and it has this admittedly aesthetic viewpoint before the summit, which overlooks Lake Wanaka and Mt Aspiring National Park.
You are thinking of doing it - should you do it? Yes, yes, YES - the answer is always yes. But, is it for you? Well, I can’t decide everything – let me tell you what my experience was like and what I thought of it.
We went up in late autumn, with the sunset hitting just after 5pm. Golden hour was simply breathtaking from up there. We got to the lookout in 2:30 hours, taking a few breathing stops along the way – the track is continuously steep with very very few breaks in gradient.
We didn’t stop at the lookout for long, as we grew tired of waiting for these two girls who took a bit too long to take their photos, kind of ignoring everyone else who got to the “photo point”.
Note: please don’t be like those girls.
The famous lookout point.
The summit was absolutely beautiful and offered incredible views across Mt Aspiring National Park. We could see all the bigger peaks easily: Mt Aspiring, Black Peak, and the one I believe is Rob Roy Peak. Obviously this guy was someone of relevance to the place.
Note: Rob Roy was a scottish ‘hero’, who raided cattle from the British, and became this well known public figure in the early 1700s. And apparently the peaks were named by early scottish settlers, so, there you go. Revolutionary settlers.
The skyline - simply breathtaking.
Okay, now commenting on the actual track. It goes through this, quite honestly, bare farmland with a few cows. No vegetation, obviously removed for farming many years ago. The track is mainly a farm track, say, 2/3 of the way up. The last third is more like a trail, and you find the alpine tussock (grass) taking over which is quite nice. So, hiking wise, other than the fantastic lake and mountain range views, which are there the whole way, it’s… monotonous. No scrambling, no forest, no roots, no major landscape changes. Well, the cows were a highlight – one decidedly stayed in the middle of the path as we went through - definitely used to humans! Have to say it was slightly creepy to see their eyes with the headtorch while coming down. Okay, okay - coming back to the track: it is quite steep, so talking much isn’t the best option, so for me it was appreciating the landscape and focusing on good posture & taking it more as a workout.
Golden hour hitting us as we arrived to the lookout.
Here's the “raw” GPS data:
Started: 2:20pm
Duration (return): 5:40 hours
Duration to lookout: under 2:30 hours
Duration to summit: 30 min more (under 3 hours total)
Total ascent: 1309m
Length: 15.8km
(I’m not one for music on the trail, but if you are I’d recommend getting some music, a good podcast or something of the sort to keep you motivated on the way up. Always at a low volume so you can hear your surroundings, of course)
Now, don’t get me wrong – the views at the lookout and at the top, are absolutely breathtaking and well deserving of your time. Progress is steady and soon you see yourself above the lower peaks, which is very motivating, as you get to see the west side. By then, you can figure out how far you are from the lookout and the rest is all said.
Beautiful views on the ascent.
Coming down, I found that having a pole was definitely a good thing, as there’s a lot of looks small rocks on the trails and can be a bit slippery. We tracked down in the moonlight, which was at half-moon strength, but was SO bright, making it to a rather quiet carpark around 8pm at night.
Overall, a great workout, breathtaking views, a very well-known photo spot and... cows. Glad I did it, but rather hit Isthmus next time.
Well, that’s me for today. Will it become your favorite read? You tell me -*forwards newsletter to their 678 contact list.*
Watch out for the next issue - will be in your inbox before you know it! I’ll be sharing an interview (or the actual outdoorview) with the inspiring Tori Taylor - the creator of a women only outdoor community which has over 33k members!
Until next time!
- Maki
P.S: I would be absolutely THRILLED to hear your feedback – just hit the reply button/comment below.
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