The trail takes most people three days. Some of the most thrilling activities around Queenstown take place on or in the water – sometimes a bit of both. Milford Sound can be visited from Queenstown. Switzerland. Permanently snowcapped, this alpine high country is linked by the alluring Matukituki Valley to the small resort town of Wanaka on the shores of Lake Wanaka. Reaching an altitude of 1076m, it is one of New Zealand’s highest public roads and is sometimes closed by snow in winter. Mid-April in odd-numbered years. The northeast-striking NW Cardrona Fault is a major range-bounding reverse fault with as much as c. 1 km of late Cenozoic, west-side-up, throw. The park, mooted in 1935 but not created until 1964, is one of the country’s largest, extending from the Haast Pass, where there are tramps around Makarora, in the north to the head of Lake Wakatipu (where the Rees–Dart Track and parts of the Routeburn Track fall within its bounds) in the south. Quick View. Kiwis and visitors complain that the town is too loud, crowded, expensive, big for its boots and the victim of devil-may-care development. Homely, warm and full of ambience. In pre-European times the plain beside the combined delta of the Rees and Dart rivers was known as Kotapahau, “the place of revenge killing”, a reference perhaps to fights between rival hapu over the esteemed pounamu which littered an area centred on the bed of the Dart River. It is only since the 1980s that grapes have been grown commercially in Central Otago, one of the world’s most southerly wine-growing regions. Queenstown is fast becoming a major cycling destination. Here, a series of water-driven (and later steam-powered) hammers would pulverize the rock, which was then passed over copper plates smeared with mercury, and onto gold-catching blankets, before the remains were washed into the berdan – a special kind of cast-iron bowl. Fly-in wilderness trip with camping beside the river – it’s more about the whole experience than the whitewater. View fullsize. Return day-trips from Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Falls Hut and from The Divide to the Lake Mackenzie Hut are much better bets. Bigger capital-intensive companies occasionally gauge the area’s potential, and as one mining engineer pithily put it, “there’s still a shitload of gold out there”. Situated on the famous Crown Range Road, the highest paved highway in the country, Cardrona Valley connects Wanaka and Queenstown and is part of a popular loop drive from Wanaka, through the Kawarau Gorge, Central Otago Wine region, and back to Wanaka. Much of the area’s pleasure is in even smaller places – the post office at Ophir or the old engineering works in the Ida Valley – and in the dozens of small cottages, many abandoned – a testimony to the harsh life in these parts. Cromwell may only be 120km from the coast, but this is as far from the sea as you can get in New Zealand, something that gives the area something of a continental climate that’s perfect for fruit growing. The first Europeans to penetrate the area were gold prospectors, government surveyors and nearby run-holders in search of fresh grazing. Visited this hotel for breakfast on the way to the Queenstown airport going home to the US. As gold fever swept through Otago in the early 1860s, prospectors fanned out, clawing their way up every creek and gully in search of a flash in the pan. There’s always a lively after-party. It’s all go!!! It’s an inexpensive way to get on the snow, negotiating the 55km of marked Nordic trails. What a wonderful week! ARROWTOWN, at the confluence of the Arrow River and Bush Creek 23km northeast of Queenstown, still has the feel of an old gold town, though on busy summer days any lingering authenticity is swamped by the tourists prowling the sheepskin, greenstone and gold of its souvenir shops. Almost a dozen wineries are open for tasting (call in advance if you’re visiting in winter), all listed on the free Central Otago Wine Map. The Skippers Road, which follows the Shotover River only in its upper reaches, branches off Coronet Peak Road 12km north of Queenstown. During the winter months, Wanaka’s relative calm is shattered by the arrival of skiers and snowboarders eager to explore the downhill ski-fields of Treble Cone and Cardrona, and the Nordic terrain at the Snow Farm. The vineyards lie close to the 45th parallel in a landscape detractors pooh-poohed as too cold for wine production, despite the fact that the Rhône Valley in France lies on a similar latitude. Our second year staying here. There’s still greenstone up there, but most is protected within the bounds of the Mount Aspiring National Park. Stay in a fully self contained HUT at the base of Cardrona Alpine Resort. The boomtowns were mostly moribund by the early twentieth century, but a few struggled on, mostly growing stone fruit and, later, grapes for what has become a burgeoning wine region full of unique flavours. View fullsize Click plan to enlarge view . Finish off the excursion flying over Central Otago’s premium Pinot Noir wine growing area in Bannockburn and Cromwell town itself. Indeed, arriving for a couple of days with a tent and provisions is the best way to experience Macetown’s unique atmosphere. In October and November, snowmelt ensures good flows and a bumpy ride; by late summer low flows can make it a bit tame for hardened rafters, though it is still scenic and fun for first-timers. Set on 384ha of Central Otago high country, Mt Cardrona Station is a breathtakingly beautiful expanse of land. The community settled along Bush Creek, its segregation from the main settlement symptomatic of the inherent racism of the time – something that also manifested itself in working practices that forced the Chinese to pick over abandoned mining claims and work the tailings of European miners. Bungy jumping, jetboating, rafting, skydiving, mountain biking, paragliding and many more activities have been honed into well-packaged, forcefully marketed products. Neighbouring Arrowtown wears its gold heritage well. The town subsequently bore his name until Foxes gave way to Arrowtown. A&P Show (w wanakashow.co.nz). From grain to glass. Prints and postcards of his work are found throughout the Maniototo and beyond, and originals hang in most of the country’s major galleries. Furthermore, it offers a great selection of restaurants, some of the flashiest accommodation in the country, and nightlife that will either suck you in or drive you away. Lake Wanaka and Lake Wakatipu both ultimately feed the Clutha River which threads its way to the coast south of Dunedin passing through land transformed by New Zealand’s first gold rushes. Rumoured to be the most photographed building in New Zealand, the historic facade hides an award-winning restaurant, legendary beer garden and charming hotel rooms with an atmosphere second-to-none. Open to walkers, cyclists and horse riders, it follows the trackbed of the former Otago Central Branch railway line and includes modified rail bridges and viaducts (several spanning over 100m), beautiful valleys and long agricultural plains. Wanaka is so beautiful and touristy town. In 1862, alluvial gold was found at Twelve Mile, sparking the rush to what later became known as Macetown, now a ghost town and a popular destination for mountain bikers, horse trekkers and trampers. Strong intermediate and advanced skiers get the most out of the experience, where conditions are more critical than at the ski-fields, but on average there’s heli-skiing seventy percent of the time, typically in four- to five-day weather windows. Sat, 6 February 2021 - Sun, 28 March 2021 @ 10am - 4pm Daily. There are strong arguments for spending your jetboating dollar on better-value wilderness trips elsewhere – the wilkin River Jet, waiatoto River safaris and trips down the wairaurahiri River spring to mind – but Queenstown does offer the scintillating shotover Jet and the thrilling, scenic and historic skippers Canyon Jet. The early gold discoveries were here, and the tourist motherlode is now mined through rafting trips, jetboating, mountain bike rides and 4WD tours. The season’s surplus is sold from a phalanx of roadside stalls from early December through to May. An alternative flight route includes the Cardrona Valley, Wanaka township and Roys Peak with a remote alpine landing at Lake McKay at 5500 feet on the Pisa Range. Passenger trains ran through the Maniototo until 1990, a continuation of what is now the Taieri Gorge Railway, but it wasn’t until early 2000 that the trail opened, galvanizing a dying region.