Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Lake District Museum & Gallery
(
www.museumqueenstown.com
; 49 Buckingham St; adult/child $8/2; 8.30am-5pm)
Exhibits cover the
gold-rush era and the early days of Chinese settlement around Arrowtown. Younger trav-
ellers will enjoy the Museum Fun Pack ($5), which includes activity sheets, museum
treasure hunts, greenstone and a few flecks of gold. You can also rent pans here to try your
luck panning for gold on the Arrow River ($5); you're more likely to find some traces if
you head away from the town centre.
MUSEUM
St Patrick's Catholic Church
(
www.stjosephsqueenstown.co.nz
;
7 Hertford St)
Apart from the impressive Star of David-shaped
rose window, this 1874 stone church wouldn't be worth noting if it weren't for its connec-
tion to Australia's only Catholic saint. Acclaimed educator St Mary of the Cross, aka
Mary McKillop (1842-1909), founded a
convent
in the tiny 1870s miners cottage next door.
There are interesting displays on the saint in the church and in the restored cottage. Try
the doors; they're often unlocked.
CHURCH
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
MACETOWN
Fourteen kilometres north of Arrowtown lies Macetown, a gold-rush ghost town reached via a rugged, flood-
prone road (the original miners' wagon track), which crosses the Arrow River more than 25 times. Don't even
think about taking the rental car here - instead trips are made from Queenstown and Arrowtown by 4WD vehicle,
with gold panning included. Operators include Nomad Safaris (
Click here
) and Southern Explorer (
Click here
)
, or
you can join a mountain-bike trip there with Arrowtown Bike Hire (
Click here
).
You can also hike there from Arrowtown (16km, 7½ hours return), but it's particularly tricky in winter and
spring; check with the information centre about conditions before heading out.
Activities
The information centre stocks a
Cycling & Walking Trail
brochure ($1) outlining some
excellent tracks in the area. One particularly good new cycling route is the
Arrow River
Bridges Track
(12km) from Arrowtown to the Kawarau Bridge, which traverses various new
suspension bridges and a tunnel cut under the highway.
Arrowtown Bike Hire
MOUNTAIN BIKING
