Driving the Scenic Crown Range Road from Wanaka to Arrowtown

18 March 2025

The plan for the morning was to visit Arrowtown on our drive from Wanaka to Te Anau. There are two routes to get to Arrowtown from Wanaka.

The usual route is through Cromwell but there is a shorter but more challenging way which is via the Crown Range Road.

The Crown Range Road is an exhilarating road with hairpin bends and steep grades. The road over the mountain range is the highest main road in New Zealand. It reaches an altitude of 1121 metres at the summit. There are some switchbacks on the descent towards Queenstown and Arrowtown. Due to its challenges, it is not recommended for new or inexperienced drivers.

View from one of the viewpoints at the summit of the Crown Range Road. It is so high up that sometimes we are driving over or through the clouds.

In winter, the road is often covered in snow and ice, making for very difficult driving conditions and people usually take the longer but safer route through Cromwell.

Since we were doing our road trip in autumn, taking the Crown Range Road to Arrowtown was a no brainer. Besides being shorter, there are plenty to see along the viewpoints on this scenic route.

After a leisurely morning in the luxurious accommodation in Wanaka, we started our journey to Arrowtown at 10 AM. The 55 km drive to Arrowtown via the Crown Range Road should take less than 1 hour but I factored in some time to stop and admire the massive views.

I had also planned a stop at the small town of Cardrona, just to visit a charming old hotel. Cardrona Hotel is one of New Zealand's oldest and most iconic hotels.   

About 2 km prior to arriving at the Cardrona Hotel, we made a quick stop alongside the highway to view what is known as the Cardrona Bra Fence.

Cardrona Bra Fence also known as or Brabrona, with hundreds of bra hung on a fence.

It is just next to the highway with some space for cars to pull over and take a look.

Legend has it that 4 drunken partygoers celebrating the 2000 New Year at the Cardrona Hotel hung their bras on a roadside fence. Four bras hanging on a fence inspired others to add to the collection. The collection grew and grew. Now with hundreds of colourful bras, the fence had become an attraction for some and an eye-sore for others.

There is not much to see actually. We just snapped a few photos of this quirky attraction and moved on to the Cardrona Hotel.

View of Cardrona Hotel from across the highway.

1926 Chrysler parked outside.

There is a large parking area opposite the hotel. For some reason, it was unusually chilly on this day. I regretted not putting on an additional layer as we crossed the road and entered the hotel.

The hotel was warm and toasty with a wood fire burning in the lobby area.

 

We made our way to the restaurant area, hoping to get a cup of warm coffee. Although the menu on the wall was mostly for alcoholic drinks, the bar tender told us we could order coffee from him which we did. 

Glad that they served coffee, not just good beer and whiskey at the bar. 

While waiting for our coffee to be prepared, I went to check out the garden at the back of the hotel.

The hotel has 17 ensuite rooms with views of the garden. Nice row of roses on front.

The garden area was empty. Partly because the weather was too cold to be sitting outside on this day.

There is a blackboard with some very interesting information of the hotel.

Very interesting FAQ.

How old is the hotel? 161 years. 

Is the hotel haunted? Yes, say ‘hi’ to Jimmy.

When did HRH Prince Harry come here? 2015.

I thought it was funny they crossed out the HRH.

Cardrona has a history rooted in the Otago gold rush of the 1860s, evolving from a bustling mining town to a popular tourist destination, particularly for skiing and snowboarding.

A lot of history has been preserved in this hotel. We could see old pictures of the hotel on the wall, information board describing the history of the hotel and artifacts such as wagon wheel, toboggan and ice skates hanging from the ceiling.

Enjoying our coffee in the Cardrona Hotel.

Pictures and drawing of the hotel depicting the hotel in the old days.

There is a glass window on the floor of the lobby that is over an old mine shaft.

Just before leaving the hotel, I went to use the restroom. Just outside the toilet, I saw Jimmy!

It was not the ghost Jimmy but an old painting of the hotel’s owner named Jim Patterson. 

Portrait of the hotel’s owner named Jimmy who died in 1961, aged 91.

It is also worth taking a look at the few old buildings next to the Cardrona Hotel. 

Old school house with an old phone booth. The school house has been repurposed into a souvenir shop.

General Store, Post and Telegraph and old gas pump.

No longer in use, but the hotel claimed they can charge your EV here.

After enjoying our visit to the historical Cardrona Hotel, we embarked on one of the most scenic drives in the South Island. The Crown Range Road ascends up the mountain range gradually after Cardrona.

One of the few cyclists we saw paddling furiously up the scenic Crown Range Road.

Zigzagging our way up, the Crown Range Road opens up to an expansive view at the summit. There is a large car park with scenic lookout called the Crown Road Summit Lookout (Google Maps location here) that allows travelers to stop and appreciate the views.            

Crown Range Road near the summit.

 

At 1026m above sea level, the Crown Range Summit Lookout is very windy and chilly.

 

We are literally above the clouds.

             

There is another lookout point further down the road called the Crown Range Road Scenic Lookout (Google Map location here). Although it is slightly lower in elevation than the summit, the views here are better, in my opinion.

View of the curvy Crown Range Road from the Crown Range Road Scenic Lookout.

A short trail leads to the lookout point with views of the valley below.                 

A Korean couple helped us take a family photo.

The drive downhill was scarier than driving up. There are sections next to the cliff’s edge with very low safety barriers.         

Driving down Crown Range Road towards Queenstown and Arrowtown.

There is another Lookout point called the Arrow Junction Lookout Point (Google Map Location here). We did not stop here.

After the Arrow Junction Lookout Point, we negotiated multiple 360 degrees hairpin turns, descending down to the alpine valley below. Actually, the hairpin turns are not scary compared to the earlier section. The drive down was actually quite fun and we saw trees with autumn foliage on the slopes although it was still not peak autumn season.

 

Driving down the hairpin turns towards Arrow Junction.

 

From Arrow Junction, we took McDonnell Road to Arrowtown and parked at the the Buckingham Street Car Park (location here). This car park has free unlimited parking and is located next to the historic Chinese Settlement in Arrowtown.                     

Next post: Exploring Arrowtown.