Glendhu Bay Near Wanaka In Autumn

What And Where Is Glendhu Bay?

Wanaka is the perfect destination if you want to experience autumn in New Zealand.

Glendhu Bay is one of several bays of Lake Wanaka that is located not too far from the Wanaka township along the Wanaka – Mount Aspiring Road on the South Island of New Zealand.

Lake Wanaka is dotted with yellow trees in autumn, and Wanaka itself is not too far away from other locations where you can experience and see more fall foliage, such as Queenstown, Arrowtown, and Central Otago.

These locations are all included in the best places to see autumn colors in New Zealand.

How To Get To Glendhu Bay

To get to Glendhu Bay, you must first drive to Wanaka. And the easiest way to get to Wanaka is to first fly to Christchurch, Dunedin, or Queenstown and then drive.

The drive from Christchurch to Wanaka is approximately 428 km (266 mi) and should take around 5 hours to complete.

The distance from Dunedin to Wanaka is about 277 km (172 mi) and should take you around 3 hours to drive.

If you are coming from Queenstown via the Crown Range Road, it should take you about 1 hour to drive 67 km (42 mi).

Once you reach Wanaka, hook onto the Wanaka – Mount Apiring Road that skirts Lake Wanaka and continue driving until you reach the Glendhu Bay campground on the right hand side of the road.

It is hard to miss and the curves in the road should make you slow down enough not to miss it.

Why Visit Glendhu Bay?

There is a campground at Glendhu Bay where you can stay if you are into camping. I generally visit Glendhu Bay as a brief stop on my way to the Matukituki Valley or just to stroll around the bay and relax.

Note that the Diamond Lake walk is further down the road from Glendhu Bay and that you can also see Glendhu Bay from the Diamond Lake walk track once you get to higher ground.

And if you drive a little bit further down, you can visit the Matukituki River where you can also find trees that turn yellow in autumn.

Both the Matukituki River and Glendhu Bay can be seen from the Mount Roy Track in Wanaka.