A Day Trip to Wanaka Lavender Farm
When the lavender is actually in bloom, what each season gives you instead, which road to take from Queenstown, and what to stop for on the way home.
Everybody pictures the same thing when they hear lavender farm. Rows of purple running off towards the mountains, the smell of it hanging in the air, a photograph that needs no help from a filter. That version is completely real. It also exists for about three months of the year, and almost nobody tells you which three.
The rest of the year the Wanaka Lavender Farm is still open, still worth the drive, and completely different. Here is what is actually there in each season, which of the two roads to take from Queenstown, and what to stop for on the way home. The only part you need to organise in advance is a car, because no bus goes anywhere near it.
When is the lavender actually in bloom?
December to February. That is when the fields turn, and outside those three months there is no purple haze to photograph. The farm is straight about this and so are we, because arriving in September expecting the postcard is the easiest possible way to be disappointed by a genuinely good place.
What each season actually gives you
Summer, December to February. The lavender in full bloom, with roses, lilies and hydrangeas through the display gardens and the honey in production. Distilling demonstrations run from January to March, so you can watch the oil being drawn off and smell the difference between the stages, which is more interesting than it sounds and free of charge once you are in.
Autumn, March to May. Some lavender still standing early in the season, then dahlias and herbs, and the trees around the beds turning red and orange. It is the quietest of the four seasons out there and arguably the best looking.
Spring, September to November. No lavender yet. What there is instead is daffodils, bluebells and cherry blossom, then tulips and rhododendrons as the season builds, and the spring lambs. The picnic experience starts up in November.
Winter, June to August. The fields are dormant and there is nothing in flower at all. What you get in exchange is the only time of year you can hand feed the alpacas and the sheep, giant games out in the grounds, and a lavender drinking chocolate in front of the fire in the tearoom. If you have children with you, winter is not the consolation prize it sounds like.
What is at the farm besides the lavender?
Twenty acres of fields, display gardens and farm animals, a tearoom, a gift shop full of handmade lavender products, and a honey shop stocking Lakes Honey. The farm holds a Qualmark Gold award, and it is at 36 Morris Road, a few minutes out of Wanaka township.
It opens seven days, nine to five from September through to May and ten to five across the winter months, and closes only on Christmas Day. There is an entry charge and it moves with the season, so it is worth checking their site before you set off rather than finding out at the gate.
Which way should you drive from Queenstown?
There are two roads, and the right answer is usually one of each. The Crown Range is the direct one, about an hour. It climbs to 1,076 metres, which makes it the highest sealed road in New Zealand, and it earns that with steep gradients and a run of hairpins on the Queenstown side that will have everyone in the car paying attention.
State Highway 6 through Cromwell is about an hour and a quarter and a great deal gentler. It is the one to take in poor weather, and the one to take if the description above has put you off entirely. Neither is a difficult drive in a normal car, they just ask for different things. Between May and October chains have to be carried over the Crown Range whether it snows that day or not, so tell us when you book and we will send the car out with a set. Snow Chains 101 covers when you actually have to stop and fit them.
Our advice: go out over the Crown Range while everyone is fresh and come back through Cromwell. You get the better drive, the better views, a fruit stall on the return leg, and you never see the same road twice. Arrowtown sits right at the bottom of the Crown Range turn, so it slots into either end of the day without adding anything to the drive.
What to stop for on the way back
If you come home through Cromwell, Mrs Jones' Fruit Stall is beside State Highway 6 and has been family run since 1983. Fresh and dried fruit, nuts, honey, vegetables, an English style rose garden, and real fruit ice cream made to order in front of you, which is the actual reason anybody stops.
One thing worth knowing before you build the drive home around it. The stall is seasonal and it closes over winter. Check it is open before you promise anybody an ice cream, because pulling into a shut fruit stall makes for a very long final half hour in the car.
Getting the car sorted
We bring the car to you. Nobody else in Queenstown does that, and it is the entire reason Evolve exists. Somebody from our team meets you where you are staying, walks you round the car and hands over the keys, so a day like this one starts at your own door. This is exactly the sort of trip we had in mind when we wrote our honest look at whether you need a car here, because Wanaka is one of the days where the answer is not close.
Or collect from us at 153b Glenda Drive in Frankton on your way out of town. Book a car with Evolve Rentals and tell us which way you are going over, and we will tell you what the road has been doing this week.
FAQs
When is the lavender in bloom at Wanaka Lavender Farm?
December to February. Some lavender is still standing early in autumn, but the full purple fields are a summer thing. Distilling demonstrations run from January to March.
Is Wanaka Lavender Farm open in winter?
Yes, seven days, ten to five through June, July and August. There are no blooms, but winter is the only season when you can hand feed the alpacas and the sheep, and the tearoom does a lavender drinking chocolate.
How long is the drive from Queenstown to Wanaka?
About an hour over the Crown Range, or about an hour and a quarter on State Highway 6 through Cromwell. Both are sealed the whole way. The Crown Range is steeper and more scenic, the Cromwell route is easier going.
Where is Wanaka Lavender Farm?
36 Morris Road, a few minutes from the centre of Wanaka. It opens seven days, nine to five from September to May and ten to five over winter, and closes only on Christmas Day.