Arrowtown Things to Do

A 250m climb will get you some fantastic views over Arrowtown and the surrounding basin.

Tobins Track was constructed in the 1870's to give access to Cardrona over the Crown Range Road. It is a legal public road that 4WDs can use. A footbridge by the ford crosses over the Arrow river and from there it is a steady climb to the top for a great viewpoint. At the top of Tobins Track is a trig station and two seats provided by the Stevenson family for walkers to enjoy the view and rest awhile.

A great way to get your bearing over the area.

The track was constructed in the late 19th or early 20th century as a means of connecting Arrowtown with the Cardrona Valley. From the top you can open a gate and connect up with the roads in the Valley and up over the Crown Range.

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The Arrow River is a short river which runs through Arrowtown where gold was discovered by William Fox in the Arrow river during the Central Otago goldrush of the 1860's.

There is a short but scenic walk along the banks of the river starting in Arrowtown. It isn't very strenuous and takes you to an historic walk bridge.

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Just to the north of Arrowtown, on the banks of Bush Creek, is the partially restored Arrowtown Chinese Settlement.

It is a stark reminder of the harsh and brutal living conditions in their search for wealth in gold.

Census figures for 1874 reveal that there were 3,564 Chinese in Otago. They were often victims of discrimination and lived on the fringes of European settlements.

on the main street, this little museum captures the history of the Lakes District area.

Its has various displays of the mining past, collections of books, photographs and newspapers. The museum also organises tour if required.

This old miners camp is well worth a visit, its only metres down the track behind the Arrowtown main street.

There are some good interpretive signs and historic photographs of the settlement which dates from the 1860's. It will take you around an hour to wander around and soak up the atmosphere. The Chinese miners build some stone wingdams into the creek to divert water so they could mine the riverbed. Some of these old workings are now being exposed by river erosion.

This is a great 4WD or mountain bike or walk into the 21kms from Arrowtown to the historic mining settlement of Macetown.

You cross the Arrow river around 19 times if taking the 4WD drive track, recently there have been 2 different walking tracks developed that take you dryly into this splendid area.

Once in, you can see the old gold diggings area and old miners huts that are still standing. A camping area is nearby, but really you can free camp anywhere. Watch the river conditions, they change, as I can atest, having put the 4WD into a deep pool. Make sure you see the bubbling brook of the proposed river crossings.

Macetown is a beautiful spot to explore with many stone ruins of huts left and the setting amongst deciduous trees, strawberries and gooseberries is spectacular.

In autumn, this trip will leave you completely spellbound, it really is a must-do!

Enjoy.

This is a pleasant 1 hour return stroll along the banks of the Arrow River and leaves from the skateboard park on Ramshaw lane just behind the Museum on the main Buckingham Street.

This popular walking track was built to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the settlement and also to open up access along the river.

The track is well formed and shaded by willow trees.

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The Chinese Settlement is on the very outskirts of Arrowtown, at Bush Creek and is free of charge to visit. Here you can explore the remains of the settlement that was home to the many Chinese goldminers. You can see inside the basic little huts which must have been cramped, cold and uncomfortable. Some of the walls inside the huts are little more than branches woven together, some are made from stone, whilst others have old newspapers pasted over boards, which I have seen in other old huts and houses of the time. It would have gone some way to keeping the drafts out.

The Chinese lived separately from the main township, as despite being hard working and honest, they were viewed with suspicion by the other miners and would have encountered much prejudice. The settlement has it's own stores and small cemetery. Many of the men living in the settlement would have intended their time here to be a temporary one, a few years hard work on the gold fields before returning home as prosperous men. However, the harsh reality was that most of them never saw their homeland again.