The track to Rob Roy Glacier in Mount Aspiring National Park is one of our favourite day hikes in New Zealand. The glacier is stunning, with waterfalls, falling ice, and kea (mountain parrots you shouldn’t feed, as insistent as they might be!).
The hike to the glacier is also spectacular. It starts with a walk from the Raspberry Flat car park along the West Matukituki Track through farmland on the south side of the Matukituki River. Two thousand metre peaks surround the river valley. After 15 minutes, you reach a swingbridge over a wild section of the river. From the bridge, the track heads up the east edge of an often deep gully carved out by the Rob Roy Steam, primarily within beech forest. The track is generally well maintained, but short sections are exposed to a drop into the gully, so pay attention!
It takes less than 2 hours, with a 400-metre climb from the swingbridge to see the glacier. Before returning, you can continue climbing up into the alpine meadow and shrubs for a picnic. Heading back is downhill, so it will probably be a bit quicker. If you are short of time, you can alternatively continue on the West Matukituki Track for a short distance until you see the glacier high on the south side of Mt Rob Roy (2,644 metres high).
To get to Raspberry Flat, take the spectacular Mt Aspiring Road from Wānaka to the car park at the end of the road in Mt Aspiring National Park. The drive is about one hour, and the road is gravel after the entrance to Treble Cone Skifield. The last section is rough, including stream fords, and can be muddy when wet. You can generally get through in a standard 2WD car or van, but take extra care.
Be mindful that it will probably take over six hours - two hours of driving time from Wanaka plus a four-hour walk. If you have a self-contained camper van, you can stay overnight at the Raspberry Flat car park, although it gets busy during peak season. The walk is below the Winter snow line and doable all year, although access is restricted to the lopwer lookout below the galcier due to avalanche risk from May to November. You are entering a remote alpine environment and should always check the weather before you go.
