Yesterday, the Department of Conservation 100-space vehicle park at the start of the one-day 16km return walk overflowed into the adjacent road verge for up to half a kilometre north.
Boxing Day is traditionally the day when boat owners launch their boats into Lake Wanaka and many used the Glendhu Bay boat ramp.
At times, cars towing boats had to drive on the other side of the road to avoid the cars and vans parked illegally on the edge of Mt Aspiring Rd.
A NZ police spokeswoman said police were not aware of any concerns raised by the public about the illegally parked cars on Mt Aspiring Rd.
"But police always urge motorists to heed such parking restrictions to ensure the safety of all road users," she said.
The ODT contacted Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage, Mt Aspiring (Wanaka) Doc office, the Queenstown Lakes District council, the three Wanaka ward councillors and Lake Wanaka iSite for a comment but no-one responded yesterday.
Mt Aspiring Rd is a council-owned and maintained road.
The Roys Peak car park is owned by the Department of Conservation and was extended to double its size two years ago.
On a recent visit to Wanaka, Ms Sage said she was aware of the popularity of Roys Peak and the parking congestion issues and was considering introducing a charge for private vehicles in the car park as a way to increase the use of public transport to and from the hike.
