The Diamond Lake Conservation Area features three easy to moderate loop tracks that sit next to each other like beads on a string and increase in difficulty but also scenic beauty with altitude gain.

This trail links the three circuits to make for a longer walk and traces the three semicircles to the west (or east; the track can be walked in either direction) on the way up and on the return completes the three loops.

The first loop track you come to, Diamond Lake Circuit, is also the shortest and easiest. As the name suggests, the trail circuits the lake under a bright green canopy of willow trees but offers little in terms of views or scenery. We thought much the same about the Lower Circuit Track, loop number two, leading up a few flights of stairs and passing under craggy schist cliffs and through bush-filled gullies to Diamond Lake lookout perched on a rocky outcrop above the lake.

On the last loop, however, Rocky Mountain Summit Track, the track climbs to 775m Rocky Mountain summit and offers brilliant vistas of Lake Wanaka, its islands Mou Waho and Mou Tapu, and the surrounding mountain skyline.

Halfway along the eastern side of the Lower Circuit Track, the Lake Wanaka Lookout Track forks off to the east. Although the views from that lookout are similar to those from Rocky Mountain summit only from a lower elevation, it’s a lovely spot and well worth the 10-minute detour.