Sweaty us after racing up the 1060m vertical climb to the top of Isthmus Peak (1385m) in 1h35m.
Sweaty us after racing up the 1060m vertical climb to the top of Isthmus Peak (1385m) in 1h35m.

Alex and I took a week holiday in Wanaka in January 2018. On our last full day we decided to bag a couple of peaks before lunch! Isthmus Peak is a vertical kilometre climb on an 8km trail which took us 1h35m to get to the top from the carpark. There were beautiful panoramic views over Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea which this range separates. After a brief rest at Isthmus Peak we loped south along the ridgeline a couple of km to take in the next peak (don’t know its name).

Panorama from Isthmus Peak.
Panorama from Isthmus Peak.
Alex relaxing at the next peak south along the ridgeline from Isthmus Peak, with Lake Wanaka in the background.
Alex relaxing at the next peak south along the ridgeline from Isthmus Peak, with Lake Wanaka in the background.
Me trying to stand on the very highest point of the next peak south along the ridgeline from Isthmus Peak :)
Me trying to stand on the very highest point of the next peak south along the ridgeline from Isthmus Peak :)

We took our sweet time on the way back down after conquering the two peaks, mainly to protect Alex’s knee/hamstring (not to mention my feet; we are both a little injured still!). But also because we wanted to soak in the views.

Panorama of Lake Hawea on the way down from Isthmus Peak ridgeline.
Panorama of Lake Hawea on the way down from Isthmus Peak ridgeline.
Me looking down over Lake Hawea on the way down the hill from our quick peak-bagging effort up to Isthmus Peak.
Me looking down over Lake Hawea on the way down the hill from our quick peak-bagging effort up to Isthmus Peak.
Native skink, probably a Common Skink (Oligosoma polychroma). Spotted in subalpine zone at about 1000m above sea level on the way down from Isthmus Peak.
Native skink, probably a Common Skink (Oligosoma polychroma). Spotted in subalpine zone at about 1000m above sea level on the way down from Isthmus Peak.

A little investigating amongst the rocks uncovered a beautiful Common Skink (Oligosoma polychroma).

Overall it was an awesome morning!! Directly afterwards I was feeling euphoric enough to want to do another couple in the afternoon :)

Alex is happy after smashing our 2hr target time to climb Isthmus Peak. We took 1h35m and this photo was taken half way down on our way back.
Alex is happy after smashing our 2hr target time to climb Isthmus Peak. We took 1h35m and this photo was taken half way down on our way back.