Monday, 20 October 2025
Yuck, yuck, yuck, the weather was bad yesterday, but it is even worse today. With 51 millimeters of rain forecast for today, it’s going to be a miserable one! It was a bit difficult to get motivated to pack up to move on but, it had to be done. With no sign of the rain easing, we had to pack the car in the rain and hit the road with the windscreen wipers working overtime.
We headed out of town on Gorge Road heading for Arrowtown. We crossed the Edith Cavell Bridge over the Shotover River, and pulled into the car park for the Shotover Jet. Having already done jet boating yesterday, we had no intention of taking a ride, we just thought we might be able to take a photo of the Shotover River and/or the bridge. Nope, the infrastructure associated with the Shotover Jet pretty much obscures the river at that point. You want to see the river, you have to ride … or at least be prepared to get out of the car. With the rain falling heavily, neither of us felt inclined to wander around getting wet, looking for a photo vantage point.
Continuing on our way, we passed the turnoff for Coronet Peak (ski field) and, on a fine day, we probably would have driven up to check out the view. Today, with visibility very poor, we didn’t bother to take the drive up the mountain. We continued along Malaghan Road, soon arriving in Arrowtown with no discernible improvement in the weather and parked the car near the Arrow River. We sat for a bit trying to decide what to do in the rain. We had driven past the Lakes District Museum & Gallery, so decided to spend a bit of time in there.
What a great museum … and not just because it was warm and dry. The museum initially looked tiny but, after we went into the basement area, we found a much larger footprint, filled with interesting history and memorabilia. The museum housed Maori artifacts, together with memorabilia associated with the early pioneers who came to establish pastoral runs. It also told the story of those who arrived seeking their fortune during the gold rush, the miners of other minerals, the establishment of power generating stations and the emergence of the tourism industry.
I had to laugh at the display in the old bank vault. A quote from the Commissioner of the Provincial Police, St John Branigan, stated in 1863 … ‘it is a matter of regret that the population which has arrived in Otago from the Australian colonies … has been of a far inferior character … the Province has received some of the most dangerous criminals of the Australian Colonies …’ Oh, dear, he was talking mainly about the miners arriving from the Victorian goldfields.
The weather had not improved while we were in the museum, so we zipped up our coats to take a quick walk along the old buildings on Buckingham Street. This town is a well-preserved time capsule of heritage buildings, from which contemporary businesses now operate. On a fine day we would have spent longer and explored more but it was just so WET!
Back in the car Bernie programmed the SatNav for Wanaka. Syri suggested the route via the Crown Range Road. Another option would have been to travel via Cromwell but Bernie thought that he had read a flood warning for that route, so was happy with Syri’s recommendation.
We drove to Arrow Junction where we took a left onto State Highway 6 then, soon after, another left onto Crown Range Road. What a ride it was as we negotiated a narrow road, with hairpin bends, up into the Crown Range. As our elevation increased, the rain turned to sleet and then we rounded a corner to find ourselves in falling snow, with snow slush on the road and a tailback of cars. Hmmn, cars ahead of us were making the decision to turn around, rather than continue in these appalling conditions.
With no chains in the car, and driving a compact sedan rather than a 4×4, we also decided to turn our hire car around to attempt that road via Cromwell after all. Fingers crossed that we can make it through that way. Syri really wanted us to take the Crown Range Road suggesting a few unmade road on the left that would take us back there. We ignored her and, eventually, she recalculated the route to head towards Cromwell.
Now travelling on State Highway 6, we passed the Kawauru Bridge Bungy. Also known as the AJ Hackett Bungy, this jump from the old Kawauru Gorge Suspension Bridge is where it all started. Once again the spot is dominated by the adventure business and there didn’t seem to be much opportunity to take a photo of the gorge or the bridge unless you were a jumper??! Of course in better weather, we would have parked and had a bit of a look around on foot. Anyhow, as we drove across the modern bridge we’re pretty sure we saw someone on the bungy jump, in the rain and all.
The agriculture through the Gibbston Valley was different from what we have been seeing. Rather than sheep and cows in the paddocks, there were hectares and hectares of fruit trees and vineyards. At the Roaring Meg Power Station we stopped briefly and Bernie braved the rain for a quick photo of the power station perched on the bank of the Kawauru River.
We made it to Cromwell without encountering any road closures due to flooding. Phew! We drove straight through the new part of town to the Cromwell Heritage Precinct. With the time spent driving half way up the Crown Range and then back down again, lunchtime had rolled around. We popped into the Pinot Junction – Lakeside Café, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch in a very popular little café. Or was that just people eating instead of sightseeing on this wet and gloomy day? We shared a BLAT sandwich, because the cinnamon scrolls looked delicious and we couldn’t resist buying one of those too. After our sandwich we enjoyed half a scroll each and … only half as many kilojoules sharing!
After eating, we zipped up our coats up again and checked out the heritage buildings. Buildings of a similar era to Arrowtown, but presented differently. The buildings here were more like a folk park, rather than the thriving businesses in old buildings that we encountered in Arrowtown’s Buckingham Street.
With the weather getting no better at all, we drove along the west side of Lake Dunstan on State Highway 6. Today, I broke out a pack of cards, to play a version of Patience that doesn’t require laying the cards out on a table, to try to combat my car-induced narcolepsy. With mixed results. I managed to stay awake between Queenstown and Cromwell but dozed off mid-game between Cromwell and Wanaka. Seriously, even concentrating on a card game can’t keep me awake!
When I woke up I resumed playing, only to find that I had lost a card. The object is to end up with no cards but, if you have cards left it must be an even number. I had an odd number of cards, so had dropped one when I fell asleep. Aaargh! I couldn’t see it while seated, so its retrieval had to wait until later.
Nearing Wanaka, we took a left onto Riverbank Road and then a right onto Orchard Road before turning right again at Cardrona Valley Road to reach the West Meadows Motel … which had a gigantic puddle across the driveway. At check-in we were offered and upstairs or a downstairs room. We joked with David on the desk that we had better take an upstairs room in case the rain didn’t stop!!
The motel is built into a slope, so we could drive up to the back of the upstairs rooms and transfer our gear into our ‘home’ for the next two nights, without having to carry it upstairs. Very nifty and not a set up we’ve ever seen before. This is one of the most expensive places we have stayed in so, thank goodness, the room is lovely. With the rain continuing, we called it a day for sightseeing and settled into our room.
Lamb shanks for dinner at the Paddle & Pint. Bernie is now watching the T20 game between New Zealand and England. The game is being played on the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. It’s not raining in Christchurch!!! New Zealand has just come out to bat, chasing 237 runs.
Steps: 4,907 (3.18kms)
