Central Otago Vineyard Sweep
A 511 km loop
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Why this ride
Leave the city behind and spend the day on roads with texture. Out of Cromwell and back again: 511 km, roughly 9 h 27 in the saddle. It goes by way of Queenstown / South Island, Central Otago Vineyard, near Te Anau and Queenstown. near Kingston is the high point. It tops out at about 1,300 m.
Roadbook
- Fuel stop near Cromwell
fuel
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.
The riding around here is a matter of light and space. State Highway 6 runs west through the Kawarau Gorge towards Queenstown, a tight, rocky slot with the milky river far below and bungy jumpers dropping off the old bridge at the far end. North, State Highway 8 heads up past Tarras towards the Lindis Pass, all long tawny hills and wide bends that let you see oncoming traffic a kilometre away. South towards Clyde and Alexandra the road follows the lake through bare schist country that looks almost lunar in the late afternoon.
This is the driest corner of New Zealand, and the summer heat is real; in winter, frost can glaze the shady bends well into the morning, so do not trust the gorge before the sun has been on it. Wind funnels down the lake too, which you will feel on an exposed motorcycle crossing the bridges.
The gold rush of the 1860s first brought people here, but the money now is in stone fruit and wine. Bannockburn, just across the water, grows some of the most southerly Pinot Noir in the world, and roadside stalls sell cherries and apricots in midsummer. Cromwell itself is a proper service town with several fuel stations, supermarkets and cafés, so it is the natural place to fill the tank and eat before the longer, emptier stretches toward Haast, Te Anau or the Lindis, where the next pump can be a long way off.
- Queenstown / South Island return
swim
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.
The Makarora valley, which runs north from the head of the lake, is the first stage of the Haast Pass route, and beech forest, braided rivers and open flats line the road. The Māori used the pass as a route to the west coast for pounamu, and early explorers followed in the 1860s. The mountains of the Southern Alps are formed by the collision of two tectonic plates and are still rising, at several millimetres a year, while erosion wears them down.
The ride on the road to the pass is magnificent, and a swim in the lake is a bracing way to break it. The water is glacial and cold, rarely above fifteen degrees even in summer, but on a warm afternoon it is wonderfully refreshing. Look for shingle beaches with easy access, and stay close to the shore. Trout fishing is also popular, and the rivers are clear, with fish visible in the pools.
For fuel, fill in Wānaka before heading north, since there are no stations on the road until the west coast. Makarora has a small shop and cafe. Sandflies are fierce near water, so carry repellent. Winter can bring snow and ice, and the road may require chains, so check conditions before you go. In summer, the long evenings are warm, and the light on the mountains lasts well into the night.
- Central Otago Vineyard Sweep food stop
food
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.
The vineyards cluster around Gibbston, on the Kawarau river, and Bannockburn, near Cromwell, where tasting rooms stand beside rows of vines on terraces of ancient river gravel. Cromwell has a giant fruit sculpture beside the highway and orchards of cherries, apricots and peaches, which ripen in the summer, and sell at roadside stalls. The gold rush of the 1860s brought thousands of miners to these valleys, and old stone huts, water races and tailings still scar the hillsides. Arrowtown preserves a small Chinese settlement, a reminder of the many Chinese miners who worked the claims. Just up the road from Gibbston, the old Kawarau bridge is where commercial bungy jumping began in 1988.
The riding is superb. The road through the Kawarau Gorge, with its twists above the green river, is a classic, and the roads around Cromwell, Clyde and Alexandra are quiet, with wide views over dry, tawny hills and distant snow. The surface is generally good, but ice can form in the shade in winter, and in summer the heat is intense. The best times are spring, when the blossom is out and the air is clear, and autumn, when the poplars and vines turn gold and red.
Fuel is available at Cromwell, Wanaka and Queenstown, so top up before you head into the quieter valleys.
Take your time. Sit on a terrace with a glass of wine, if you are not riding, or a coffee if you are, and watch the light change on the hills. It is a country that looks better the longer you stay.
- Photo stop near Te Anau
photo
Photo stop near Te Anau, about halfway.
- Near Queenstown
finish
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.
Lake Wakatipu is a long, narrow glacial trough shaped like a lightning bolt, and it has a curious habit: its surface rises and falls by several centimetres every few minutes, a slow breathing caused by a standing wave. Māori legend explains it as the heartbeat of the giant Matau, who lies sleeping at the bottom of the lake, his body forming its zigzag shape. The water is clear, startlingly blue and very cold even in summer.
The road south is a good one. It runs along the lake with long sweepers, a few tighter bends and a stretch known as the Devil's Staircase, where it climbs and twists above the water before dropping toward Kingston at the lake's southern tip. Traffic can be heavy with campervans and tourist coaches, many driven by visitors still adjusting to the left side of the road, so give them room. Strong winds can funnel down the lake, and black ice is a real danger on shaded bends in winter.
The rides from here go in two directions. The Milford Road continues south through Kingston and across the plains to Te Anau, then up through the Eglinton Valley and the Homer Tunnel to Milford Sound, one of the world's great mountain roads. The vineyard ride heads the other way, through Frankton and the Kawarau Gorge to Gibbston, Cromwell and Bannockburn, where pinot noir grows on terraces of gravel left by gold miners. The first commercial bungy jump was set up on the Kawarau Bridge, and you can still watch people leap from it.
Fill the tank in Queenstown or Frankton, which have everything. On the way to Milford, Te Anau is the last reliable fuel stop, and there is a long stretch beyond with almost nothing. Bring warm, waterproof layers whatever the season, because weather in Fiordland and around the lakes changes fast.
- Scenic stretch near Kingston
scenic
Scenic stretch near Kingston comes up 365 km in.
- High point near Kingston
pass
You top out here; the road stops climbing.
- Back to Central
finish
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.
The region was built on gold. Prospectors poured into the valleys in the 1860s, and the rock and water of this area still show the scars of their sluicing and tunnelling, with stone huts and tailings left among the bushes. When the Clyde Dam was built in the 1980s, the old town of Cromwell was partly drowned beneath Lake Dunstan and the historic buildings were moved up the slope to form a new heritage precinct. Today the fruit tells the later story: apricots, cherries and peaches ripen in the summer heat, roadside stalls sell them by the bag, and the vineyards produce some of the country's best pinot noir.
On a motorcycle this is a delight. The roads run through the gorge of the Kawarau river, over passes, along dry terraces and past orchards, and they are quiet, well surfaced and filled with open bends. Summer is hot enough that you will want ventilated gear and plenty of water, and the wind can pick up in the afternoon, while in winter frost and black ice are real and some higher roads are closed. Autumn, with its gold poplars, willows and vines, is the best time for colour.
Cromwell, about twelve kilometres away, has fuel, food and places to stay, and the town's big fruit sculpture on the highway is a landmark you cannot miss. Queenstown is further, so top up here if you plan to go on. A glass of local pinot and a plate of cheese at a cellar door make a fine end to the day, but watch the afternoon sun and wait before you ride again.