Crown Range and Wanaka

A 245 km loop

Open this ride in the planner →

Why this ride

A proper escape from Queenstown with roads worth waking up for. 245 km round from Arrowtown - plan on about 5 h 07 of riding. The stops in between: Scenic stretch near Arrowtown, near Kingston and Queenstown. The climb of the day is near Cromwell. It tops out at about 1,150 m. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.

Roadbook

1. Fuel stop near Arrowtown fuel

   Lake Hayes is the small lake that every photographer in the Queenstown area seems to know about, and on a still morning you will see why. The water mirrors the brown and gold hills around it, and in autumn, from April into May, the poplars and willows along the shore turn a brilliant yellow. It sits in the Wakatipu basin between Queenstown and Arrowtown, along State Highway 6, and a walking track loops around the shore in a couple of hours, a fine way to loosen up after a morning in the saddle.

   Arrowtown, a few kilometres north, is the historic heart of this area. Gold was found in the Arrow River in 1862, and within months thousands of miners had poured in. The town that grew up then still has a main street of stone and timber buildings, now occupied by cafes, galleries and shops, and avenues of trees planted by the early settlers. Down by the river, the restored huts of the Chinese settlement tell a less romantic story: Chinese miners came to Otago in the 1860s and 1870s, invited at first, then faced discrimination and hardship, and their stone huts and stores are now a protected site.

   For riders, this is the gateway to the Crown Range Road, one of the most famous drives in New Zealand. The road begins just north of here, near Arrow Junction, and climbs steeply in a series of switchbacks onto the range. Before you start, the roads around the basin are worth a look: the back road from Lake Hayes to Arrowtown winds through farmland and vineyards, and the route out past Arthurs Point to the Shotover River gorge is a short and twisting ride. The traffic in the Queenstown area can be heavy, especially in summer and during the ski season, with tourists in rental cars and campers who are not used to driving on the left.

   Queenstown, twelve kilometres away, has every service you could need, as well as an endless list of adventure activities, from bungy jumping to jet boats. Arrowtown has fuel, a supermarket, cafes and restaurants, and it is quieter and more relaxed than Queenstown. The area is also wine country: Central Otago Pinot Noir is famous, and the Gibbston Valley to the east is lined with cellar doors. The weather can be very changeable, with hot summer days and freezing winter nights, and snow is common on the hills in winter.

2. Scenic stretch near Arrowtown scenic

   Scenic stretch near Arrowtown comes up 35 km in.

3. High point near Cromwell pass

   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.

4. Photo stop near Kingston photo

   Photo stop near Kingston, about halfway.

5. Near Queenstown finish

   South of Queenstown, the land runs along the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu, between the water and the jagged wall of the Remarkables, and the road towards Kingston follows the lake for long kilometres. It is one of the most spectacular roads in New Zealand, with the lake on one side, deep blue and long, and the mountains rising steeply on the other, their peaks snow-capped for much of the year.

   The Remarkables are the defining sight. They are a range of steep, jagged peaks, their name chosen because they look so remarkable, and their western face rises almost straight from the lake. In winter, a ski field operates on their upper slopes, reached by a steep gravel road. Lake Wakatipu itself is long and narrow, shaped like a lightning bolt, and it is said to "breathe": the water rises and falls by several centimetres every few minutes, a seiche caused by wind and pressure. Maori legend tells that the lake was formed when a giant, Matau, was burned in his sleep, and that his heart still beats beneath the water.

   The ride to Queenstown from Wanaka over the Crown Range is the highlight of the day. The Crown Range Road is the highest main sealed road in New Zealand, with a summit at 1,076 metres, and it climbs in tight hairpins above the Cardrona valley, with huge views across the Wakatipu basin from the top. It can be closed or icy in winter, and the hairpins on the Queenstown side are steep, so ride carefully. Traffic includes campervans driven by tourists who may not be used to the roads, so give them room.

   Queenstown is a busy resort town, known for adventure sports, bungee jumping and skiing, and it has every service you could need: fuel, food, accommodation and bike shops. To the south, Kingston is a small lakeside village at the end of the lake, where a historic steam train, the Kingston Flyer, has run at times. The roads to the south continue towards Fiordland and Southland.

   Stop at a lakeside pullout, take off your helmet and watch the light change on the Remarkables in the late afternoon. It is one of those views that make you understand why people move to the other side of the world.

6. Food stop near Queenstown food
7. Queenstown / South Island return swim

   North-west of Queenstown, past the head of Lake Wakatipu, the road gives out and the real mountains begin. This is the country around Glenorchy, the last small settlement on the lake, and beyond it the Dart and Rees valleys, where glacier-fed rivers braid across wide gravel flats under peaks that rise to nearly three thousand metres. Mount Aspiring National Park starts here, and so does a landscape that film makers have borrowed again and again, since the beech forests, the white rivers and the great bare walls of rock make it look like an ancient fantasy of the mountains.

   The ride out to Glenorchy is one of the finest in the country. The road hugs the lake shore for forty-odd kilometres, twisting around bays, climbing over rocky headlands and dipping into small coves where the water is a startling turquoise. It is a road to ride slowly, partly because the bends come quickly and partly because every few hundred metres there is a view you will want to stop for. The surface is mostly good, though there are tight sections where the shoulder is narrow and tour vehicles come the other way.

   Beyond Glenorchy the tarmac ends and gravel takes over, leading toward Paradise and the trailheads of the Routeburn and Greenstone tracks. The gravel is fine for a steady ride in dry weather and miserable in the wet, so look at the sky before you commit. The rivers here are bitterly cold, even in January, and swimming is for the hardy, though a quick dip at a quiet gravel bank is hard to resist when the sun is out.

   You will not find fuel past Glenorchy, and the nearest large town is Queenstown, so take care. Glenorchy itself has a small shop, a cafe and a pub, and a few places to stay. The weather turns quickly, with rain sometimes lasting days and rivers rising over fords, so keep an eye on conditions. Come back along the lake in the evening if you can, when the light is soft on the water and the day-trippers have gone home.

8. Back to Crown finish

   Arrowtown is the sort of place that tells the story of the Otago gold rush in a few short streets. It sits a few kilometres from this point, on the Arrow River, where gold was found in 1862, and within a year or two thousands of men had descended on the valley. The little town that remained is a collection of stone and timber cottages, shops and a main street shaded by deciduous trees, which in autumn blaze yellow and red.

   The most interesting corner is the Chinese settlement beside the river. When the first rush faded, the provincial government invited Chinese miners to rework the claims, and they lived here in rough huts built into the rock, working claims that Europeans had abandoned. Several of the stone huts have been restored, and a shop with a store room still stands. It is a quiet and rather moving place, and it is a reminder of how much hardship was involved.

   The surrounding landscape is schist hills, tussock and orchards, with the Crown Range rising to the east. The road from Arrowtown to Cardrona climbs the Crown Terrace and then up to the summit by a series of hairpins that locals call the Zig Zag, with gravel on the edges and long drops to the side. Views over the Wakatipu basin are broad and impressive. At the top, the car park is often crowded with people taking photographs, and the wind can be sharp even in summer. In winter ice and snow can close the road.

   Riding down the other side towards Cardrona and Wānaka is a delight, with open bends and clear views of the valley and the mountains beyond. Be careful of oncoming traffic, because the road is narrow and winding, and drivers sometimes cut corners. The road surface is good but may be damp in shaded sections. Livestock is a hazard on the lower stretches.

   For fuel, the safest option is Queenstown, about nineteen kilometres away, since Arrowtown itself is small and services are limited. Arrowtown has bakeries and cafes, and the tree-lined main street makes a pleasant place for lunch. Autumn, from late April to May, is the glory time, but it is crowded.

   Walk along the river path at dusk when the day-trippers have gone. The gold-rush ghosts feel closer then.

Where this sits

Rides near here