CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
812 km from Queenstown to Cromwell, about 17 h 04 of riding. On the way it passes Scenic stretch near Queenstown, near Cromwell and Catlins Coastal. The climbs: near Queenstown and near Kingston. It tops out at about 1,300 m. Long stretches are under trees.
78 km on Crown Range Road.
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
South of Queenstown, the road to Kingston follows the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu, squeezed between deep, cold water and the jagged wall of the Remarkables. In winter they are white to their bases; in summer the bare rock glows gold and grey in the evening light.
Read the complete Near Queenstown write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Catlins Coastal Weekend is where the day begins. Next is High point near Queenstown.
South of Queenstown, the road to Kingston follows the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu, squeezed between deep, cold water and the jagged wall of the Remarkables. In winter they are white to their bases; in summer the bare rock glows gold and grey in the evening light.
Read the complete Near Queenstown write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Catlins Coastal Weekend checkpoint 8.
South of Queenstown, the road to Kingston follows the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu, squeezed between deep, cold water and the jagged wall of the Remarkables. In winter they are white to their bases; in summer the bare rock glows gold and grey in the evening light.
Read the complete Near Queenstown write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 822 km. Next is Scenic stretch near Queenstown.
South of Queenstown, the road to Kingston follows the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu, squeezed between deep, cold water and the jagged wall of the Remarkables. In winter they are white to their bases; in summer the bare rock glows gold and grey in the evening light.
Read the complete Near Queenstown write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Scenic stretch near Queenstown, early in the day. Next is Photo stop near Queenstown.
Photo stop near Queenstown sits at 219 km, early in the day. Next is Queenstown / South Island return.
Cromwell sits in the heart of Central Otago, on the shores of Lake Dunstan, in a dry, sunny basin of tawny hills, schist rocks and orchards. It is a town of around five thousand people, known for its fruit, its wine and its huge sculpture of fruit at the entrance, and it is a good place to stop on a hot day in summer.
Read the complete Near Cromwell, on the way back write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Queenstown / South Island return comes up about 169 km into the recorded legs. Next is Food stop near Cromwell.
Cromwell sits where two of Central Otago's big rivers used to meet, and these days the meeting happens under water. When the Clyde Dam was finished in the early 1990s, the rising Lake Dunstan swallowed the old town centre and much of the gorge, and what survived of the gold-era main street was rebuilt as a heritage precinct on the new lakeshore. It is worth the short detour: schist cottages, a bakery or two, and the eerie knowledge that the original riverbank is somewhere below the boats.
Read the complete Fuel stop near Cromwell write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
A break here. Next is Back to Catlins Coastal.
It is the best piece of lakeside riding in the district, a ribbon of tarmac cut into steep hillside above the water, with bends that tighten and release, and views down to the lake that make you want to stop at every turnout.
Read the complete Catlins Coastal write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Finish at Back to Catlins Coastal. That is the ride. Next is Central Otago Vineyard Sweep.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
The lake is long, deep and glacial, a cold turquoise in summer, with steep brown hills falling to its shores and snow-capped peaks beyond. The air here is clear, the silence is deep, and the only sounds are wind, water and birdsong.
Read the complete Queenstown / South Island return write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Queenstown / South Island return comes up about 419 km into the recorded legs. Next is Central Otago Vineyard Sweep food stop.
This is the most southerly wine region in the world, a rain-shadow landscape where the mountains hold off the Tasman Sea weather and leave the valleys cold, bright and dry, with hot days and frosty nights that suit pinot noir.
Read the complete Central Otago Vineyard Sweep food stop write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
A break here. Next is Photo stop near Te Anau.
Photo stop near Te Anau, late in the day. Next is Central Otago Vineyard Sweep checkpoint 8.
South of Queenstown, the road to Kingston follows the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu, squeezed between deep, cold water and the jagged wall of the Remarkables. In winter they are white to their bases; in summer the bare rock glows gold and grey in the evening light.
Read the complete Near Queenstown write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central Otago Vineyard Sweep checkpoint 8 closes the day. Next is Scenic stretch near Kingston.
Scenic stretch near Kingston comes up about 726 km into the recorded legs. Next is High point near Kingston.
High point near Kingston tops the climb. Next is Back to Central.
The land is dramatic in an unfamiliar way: bare tawny slopes, tumbled grey rocks, thyme and briar on the dry banks, and a sky so clear that the light seems brittle. Mountains of the Southern Alps stand blue and white behind the nearer ranges, and the contrast between the dry foreground and the snow behind is one of the great views of the South Island.
Read the complete Central write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back to Central closes the day.
Fuel stop near Queenstown → High point near Queenstown is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point near Queenstown → Near Queenstown is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Scenic stretch near Queenstown → Photo stop near Queenstown is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Photo stop near Queenstown → Near Cromwell, on the way back is 78 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Food stop near Cromwell → Back to Catlins Coastal is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Back to Catlins Coastal → Fuel stop near Cromwell is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fuel stop near Cromwell → Queenstown / South Island return is 119 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Queenstown / South Island return → Central Otago Vineyard Sweep food stop is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Otago Vineyard Sweep food stop → Photo stop near Te Anau is 134 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Photo stop near Te Anau → Near Queenstown is 73 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Scenic stretch near Kingston → High point near Kingston is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point near Kingston → Back to Central is 65 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.