The Mac Daddy starts with you meeting one of your guides, either at the Wanaka I-site or right at your accommodation door! From there, it’s a quick drive down to the lake, where you will arrive at the starting point for your epic adventure.
After packing the boats with your personal gear, you’ll get your safety gear on, get a kayaking skills lesson, and get on the water! You have a 16 km paddle ahead of you, but there is plenty of time, so you can take lots of photos and enjoy the experience of exploring at lake level. On the way, your guide will share with you stories about the history, environment, and legends surrounding Wanaka. There will be stops for morning tea and a picnic lunch, so you definitely will not go hungry on this trip!
Arriving at Mou Waho island in the mid-afternoon will give you lots of time to get your personal tent organized. Luckily they’ll already be set up when you arrive, so this won’t take long! Then you might want to take a swim off the beach, go for a little nature walk, or just chat with your fellow paddlers over a cup of afternoon coffee on the beach. Watch where you leave your things though, the cheeky wekas on the island just love to snatch shiny objects for a closer look!
Your guide has a few culinary tricks up their sleeve, so your evening meal will be a treat! Don’t forget to leave room for dessert!
As the sun goes down you may want to put on a jacket, but being out in the cool night air is worth it as the stars of the southern sky start to appear, so dense in the sky it’s hard to believe that it’s real. When you’ve had your fill, you can climb into your cozy tent for a well -deserved night’s sleep.
If you are keen in the morning, your guide will have some coffee and fruit ready for you to have a quick bite before you head up to the viewpoint at the top of Mou Waho to watch the sunrise over the Southern Alps. While totally optional, this is an absolute highlight of the trip, and worth the early morning walk. There’s no rush to get back down for breakfast, so you can enjoy the stunning spectacle for as long as you like.
When you are ready to head back down, your guide will have a filling cooked breakfast waiting for you. When you’ve had your fill, you’ll start packing up your personal gear and loading it back into the kayaks. Now your leisurely day 2 paddle begins, and you can start to explore some of the most remote corners of Lake Wanaka. Waterfalls, beaches, and swims are all possibilities for you to enjoy.
By early afternoon, you may still be a long way from the town of Wanaka, but that doesn’t matter, since you’ll have a water-taxi coming to pick you up. Your group and the boats will be loaded up, and then you’ll enjoy a scenic cruise all the way back to the marina. Once back in town, you’ll say your final farewells and get dropped off back where you began.
