What to drink hiking in New Zealand is water. A can of Sidekick is a treat at the car, the hut, the lakefront, or town. It is not hydration. Honey-sweetened fruit soda is still soda.
Sidekick is from Wānaka. This page is the honest answer for anyone typing “trail drink” or “what to drink hiking NZ.” It is not a gear review, and it is not a sports-drink claim.
Water first
DOC says it on the peaks we actually walk: no water on Roys Peak, no water on Ben Lomond. Alpine weather. No shade. Carry more than the walk looks like it needs.
Great Walks and long alpine days are the same rule. Huts have their own water notes. Read the track page. Do not plan to buy a soda at a lookout.
When a can is fine
Easy walks — Mount Iron, Queenstown Hill, a lakefront, a short circuit — if you will drink it at the lookout and carry the empty down. Sit. Drink. Pack it out. Do not leave it by the sculpture.
Full-day peaks — Roys Peak, Isthmus Peak, Ben Lomond, anything with 1,000 m of climb. Leave the can in the car or for town. Extra weight is a poor joke. A crushed can at a summit is litter.
The packing note for our hills is How to pack a trail can. Track notes: Best views in Wānaka, Best views in Queenstown.
Abel Tasman, Milford, the rest of the island
There is no shop on the Abel Tasman Coast Track. There is no Sidekick fridge we will publish at Milford Sound. Pack from Wānaka or Queenstown, or shop a 12-pack before you fly or drive.
Honey soda for a South Island trip is that map. If Find Us has no pin, there is no named fridge.
After the walk
Cherry after a hot climb. Pear next to a lake. That serve is After the walk in Wānaka and Queenstown. Named town stockists, not a can on the saddle.
Core four: Cherry, Mango, Pear, Strawberry. New Zealand honey. No cane sugar, no stevia, no erythritol. Not electrolytes. Not a recovery drink.
- A weekend in Wānaka
- A weekend in Queenstown
- Recipes if you want a cocktail or mocktail at the house — not on the track
