Things to do in Twizel and Omarama

Twizel was built in 1968 to house workers on the Waitaki hydro scheme and still looks like it: a grid of streets with no real centre, 65 km (45 min) from Aoraki/Mount Cook and roughly 265 km (3 h 30) from Queenstown via Lake Tekapo. Treat it as a base, not a destination.

Omarama, 30 minutes further south, is the country's main gliding centre, with flights from around NZD 250 for 20 minutes to NZD 500-plus for an hour riding the Southern Alps' wave winds.

The Omarama hot pools cost around NZD 25-30 for two hours, and the Clay Cliffs on Quailburn Road (NZD 10 entry, gravel road, 20 minutes from Omarama) are eroded silt-and-gravel pinnacles best seen in low, late-afternoon light. Both towns sit under some of the darkest skies in the Mackenzie Basin.