Crown Terrace is a flat shelf of farmland high above the Arrow River, a wide green apron tipped against the Crown Range, and the first place on the road up from Queenstown where you can breathe out. Behind you the Wakatipu basin falls away to the lake and the zigzag of the Remarkables. Ahead, the tussock-covered slopes of the range rise in folds, brown in summer and white in winter. Sheep, cattle and deer graze the paddocks, and the roadside fences are lined with hawthorn, poplars and old stone walls. On a clear, still morning the light here is brilliant, and the air smells of cut grass and dry earth.
The road onto the terrace is the old Crown Range road, which leaves the main highway near Arrow Junction and climbs in a long series of bends, with the gradient easing as you reach the flat. Arrowtown, a few kilometres below, was a gold rush town in the 1860s, when the Arrow river gave up a fortune in gold to miners from all over the world, including many from China, whose stone huts you can still see on the edge of town. The terrace was a farming settlement above it, supplying the miners with meat and produce, and farming has remained the main business since.
For a rider, the terrace is a pleasant interlude. The road is well sealed, wide and open, with good visibility and very little traffic except for the occasional farm vehicle or tour van. The bends are gentle, and the views of the mountains are constant. The weather can change quickly, and a bright morning can turn to wind and rain by lunchtime, with snow on the tops even in summer. In winter, the road can be icy, and frost lingers in the shade, so take extra care on the bends.
Queenstown, about twelve kilometres away, is the place to buy fuel, food and anything else you need, and Arrowtown has a few small stations and shops, a good bakery and several cafés. There are no services on the terrace itself, but the surrounding farmland is a good place to pull over, watch the clouds roll across the range, and decide whether the day's riding will be dry. Take a windproof jacket, and fill the tank before you leave town.