Discover Makarora

In Makarora, short forest walks meet guided tours and experiences by plane or jet boat. The town is on the Haast Pass Highway between Wānaka and the West Coast, with easy access to Mount Aspiring National Park. When choosing where to stay, the main consideration is whether you plan to explore walks in town, take tours from Makarora or visit hiking destinations elsewhere in the Queenstown Lakes District.

Forest walks starting right in town

The Charteris Track is 1.1 km long and forms part of a loop through Makarora. It connects to the Nature Walk and continues to Rata Road. Another short loop is the Makarora Bush Walk: the 1 km route has a stated walking time of 15 minutes and starts at the car park north of the DOC base. It passes through podocarp and silver beech forest with mātaī, miro, kahikatea and rimu. Along the way, a pit saw illustrates early timber processing—nature and history come together on the same walk.

Makarora has toilets but no visitor centre. Makarora Country Cafe serves coffee, desserts and savoury dishes.

Guided tours and water experiences

The Tiel Discovery Trail tour departs from Makarora, flies to the head of the Tiel hanging valley and back, and includes a guided walk with conservation experts from the Aspiring Biodiversity Trust. The walk is marked, rated easy to moderate and listed as taking two to three hours.

The Siberia Experience combines a 25-minute flight, a three-hour walk through Mount Aspiring National Park and a jet boat ride. Wilkin River Jets offers jet boat rides on shallow water in Makarora; the operator’s “Siberia Wilderness Adventure” takes place in Mount Aspiring National Park. Backcountry Helicopters also offers Heli Siberia, a day trip combining a helicopter flight, walk and jet boat ride.

Routes in the surrounding area

The Blue Pools Track passes through native silver beech forest to a suspension bridge over the Makarora River and continues to a second suspension bridge above the Blue Pools. No booking is required for this track. There are toilets at the car park, including an accessible toilet.

A more challenging walk in the surrounding area is the Makarora Track. This backcountry route leads to the four-bunk Makarora Hut and passes Stewart Falls along the way. The 10.5 km route has a stated walking time of seven hours. This makes the short loops in town quite different from a multi-hour trip in the surrounding area.

Walks in the Queenstown Lakes District

The wider Queenstown Lakes District destination also offers different types of walks. The Queenstown Hill Time Walk starts on Belfast Street and takes two to three hours, including the return to the car park. The challenging Ben Lomond Track is a full-day walk from Queenstown with 1,438 metres of elevation gain. Along the way, panoramic views open up over Queenstown, Lake Whakatipu and the surrounding mountain ranges.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Albert Town, Closeburn, Wanaka, Kingston, Dingle Burn, Moonlight, Speargrass Flat, Arthurs Point.

Go to the overview of the wider destination: Queenstown Lakes District.