Sidekick is a honey-sweetened soda from Wānaka. If you are on a South Island trip — Queenstown, Milford Sound, Abel Tasman, Tekapo — buy the can in town or shop a 12-pack before you go. There is no fridge we will name on the Abel Tasman Coast Track or at the Sound.
Water on the walk. The can is for after. Pack the empty out.
This is a packing map, not a café ranking.
Wānaka first
This is hometown. Named stockists sit on Where to drink Sidekick in Wānaka: Corner Peak Coffee, Edgewater, Muttonbird, Little Street Kitchen. On the Crown Range, Cardrona Valley General Store sits opposite the hotel. On the Luggate highway, Red Bridge Berries. Fridges move. Ask staff.
The views are Roys Peak, Mount Iron, Diamond Lake, Isthmus Peak. Check DOC before you go. Roys Peak closes 1 October to 10 November for lambing.
Queenstown, including the airport
The next valley. Most visitors fly into Queenstown. Airspresso stocks Sidekick in domestic departures. In town: Onsen Hot Pools, Remarkables Market on Saturdays, The Bathhouse on the lakefront. Frankton: SUNDAYS and Bakers Lane.
Sidekick is not from Queenstown. It is from Wānaka. The airport fridge is how a lot of people meet it.
Best views in Queenstown — Ben Lomond, Queenstown Hill, Bob’s Peak, the lake. Same rule: water on the hill.
Milford Sound and Te Anau
Milford is a long day from Queenstown, or a night in Te Anau. The road is the trip. There is no Sidekick stockist we will publish at the Sound.
Buy in Queenstown before you leave. Carry water. The can is for the car, Te Anau, or back in town — not a lookout bin. Check DOC’s Milford Sound / Piopiotahi for conditions, and do not treat soda as a day-walk drink.
If you overnight in Te Anau, use the map on Find Sidekick. If there is no pin, there is no named fridge.
Abel Tasman
The Coast Track is a Great Walk. Water taxis run from Marahau and Kaiteriteri. There is no shop on the track. Do not plan to buy soda at a hut.
Pack from Nelson, Motueka, or Marahau if you see a can — we do not name those fridges here because we have not listed them. Safer: buy in Wānaka or Queenstown, or shop a 12-pack before you fly or drive north.
DOC Abel Tasman for bookings, water, and tides. Same packing note as everywhere else: how to pack a trail can.
Tekapo, Aoraki / Mount Cook, the Mackenzie
This is a road-trip fridge. Shop in Wānaka or Queenstown, keep a can in the car, drink it at a lake or in town, pack the empty. We do not publish a café list for Tekapo or the village at Aoraki.
Check DOC for Aoraki / Mount Cook tracks. Alpine weather. Water first.
Glenorchy, Arrowtown, the rest of the day trips
Arrowtown has one named fridge: the New Orleans Hotel on Buckingham Street. Glenorchy and the rest of the Queenstown satellites: pack from Queenstown unless Find Us shows a pin you can actually see.
Franz Josef, Fox Glacier, Kaikōura, Picton: same rule. Mentioned here so you know to buy before the drive. Not a stockist URL.
What to put in the pack
Cherry after a hot climb. Pear next to a lake. One 250 ml can if the walk is short. None on Roys Peak or Ben Lomond until you are done.
Core four: Cherry, Mango, Pear, Strawberry. Honey-sweetened, real fruit, New Zealand honey, a splash of apple cider vinegar. No cane sugar. No stevia. No erythritol. Not a sports drink.
- What to drink hiking in New Zealand
- How to pack a trail can
- A weekend in Wānaka
- A weekend in Queenstown
- Where to drink Sidekick in Wānaka
- Where to drink Sidekick in Queenstown
- Where to drink Sidekick in Arrowtown
- Find Sidekick for the rest of New Zealand
- Shop or Fridge Fill for a 12-pack
- Recipes if you want a cocktail or mocktail at the house
