Wanaka, New Zealand
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Wanaka Wānaka (Māori) |
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|---|---|
| Town | |
 Wanaka
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| Coordinates: 44°42′S 169°09′E / 44.700°S 169.150°ECoordinates: 44°42′S 169°09′E / 44.700°S 169.150°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Otago |
| Territorial authority | Queenstown Lakes District |
| Area | |
| • Total | 28.61 km2 (11.05 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 290 m (950 ft) |
| Population (June 2016) | |
| • Total | 7,850 |
| • Density | 270/km2 (710/sq mi) |
| Time zone | NZST (UTC+12) |
| • Summer (DST) | NZDT (UTC+13) |
| Postcode | 9305 |
| Area code | 03 |
Wanaka /ˈwɒnəkə/ (Māori: Wānaka) is a popular ski and summer resort town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. At the southern end of Lake Wanaka, it is at the start of the Clutha River and is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park.
Wanaka is primarily a resort town with both summer and winter seasons. Its economy is based on the many outdoor opportunities this offers.
Historically, Maori visited the Wanaka area to hunt and fish in summer, or on their way to seek pounamu on the West Coast. Ngai Tahu abandoned their seasonal camps after a raid by a North Island war party in 1836. The current town was founded during the gold rush of the 19th century. Along with the rest of the Queenstown-Lakes District, Wanaka is growing rapidly, with the population increasing by 50% between 2005 and 2015.
Wanaka was visited annually by Ngai Tahu who sought greenstone in the mountains above the Haast River and hunted eels and birds over summer, returning to the east coast by descending the Clutha River / Mata-Au in reed boats called mōkihi. Ngai Tahu use of the land was ended by attacks by North Island tribes. In 1836, the Ngati Tama chief Te Puoho led a 100-person war party, armed with muskets, down the West Coast and over the Haast Pass: they fell on the Ngai Tahu encampment between Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea, capturing 10 people and killing and eating two children. Some of the Ngai Tahu fled down the Waitaki river to the coast; Te Puoho took his captives over the Crown Range to Lake Wakatipu and thence to Southland where he was killed and his war party destroyed by the southern Ngai Tahu leader Tuhawaiki.
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