Ideas
Out and About
Cromwell sits at the bottom of Lake Dunstan where four
valleys meet, so almost everything here is a short drive from almost
everything else. Open a heading to see the actual places.
Idea 01
Spend a morning in a town that was drowned
When the Clyde Dam filled this valley in the 1990s, the original 1860s
gold rush township went under the water. The parts worth saving were
pulled apart and rebuilt stone by stone on the new shoreline, and that
is the Heritage Precinct: a working little village of stone cottages,
galleries, makers and cafes with the lake right at the end of the street.
It is free, it is flat, and it will quietly eat half a morning. On Sunday
the whole place fills up with a market, which is the single best thing
happening in Cromwell on Easter Sunday.
Where to go 4 spots
-
Cromwell Heritage PrecinctMelmore Terrace
The old town on the lake edge. Free to wander, with galleries,
workshops, cafes and a lot of gold rush history in the walls.
-
Cromwell Farmers & Craft MarketHeritage Precinct
Sunday mornings, 9am to 1pm, running from Labour Weekend through to
Anzac Sunday, which includes Easter Sunday. Produce, baking, coffee
and craft stalls. Get there early.
-
Cromwell MuseumTown centre
Small local museum covering the gold, the orchards and the flooding
of the valley. Good half hour if the weather turns.
-
Penny BlackHeritage Precinct
Right on the water at the precinct. Coffee, cocktails, craft beer and
tapas style plates. The best table in Cromwell on a still afternoon.
Idea 02
Go looking for gold
Everything about Central Otago starts with the 1862 gold rush. Miners
turned fire hoses on entire hillsides here and left a landscape that
still looks like the aftermath of something: cliffs, tunnels, stone hut
ruins and tailings stacked in rows.
Two versions of it. The free one is a walk through the wreckage. The paid
one puts a pan in the kids' hands, which is the version that tends to
win.
Where to go 3 spots
-
Bannockburn SluicingsBannockburn, 10 min
A 3.5km loop through country hosed apart by gold miners between 1862
and the 1930s. Free, exposed and genuinely strange. Take water, wear
real shoes and stay back from the edges.
-
Goldfields Mining CentreKawarau Gorge
Original workings a few minutes west of town, with gold panning the
kids can actually do and working machinery to look at. Straightforward
winner for this crowd.
-
Bendigo Historic Reserve20 min north
Ghost town remains, stone cottages and old quartz workings on the hill
above the lake. Free, quiet and a little eerie. Short walk, big view.
Idea 03
Give the kids a day that competes with the show
Cromwell is unusually well set up for this, and most of it is within five
minutes of the middle of town. There is a proper motorsport park on the
edge of town, an adventure playground and free disc golf course by the
pool, mini golf next to a giant piece of fruit, and hot pools for when
everyone has run out.
If your crew has just spent three days looking at machinery, the go karts
at Highlands are the obvious pairing and the museum next to them is the
quiet win.
Where to go 6 spots
-
Highlands Motorsport ParkSH6, Cromwell
A 650 metre outdoor go kart circuit with single and tandem karts so
smaller kids can ride along, plus the National Motorsport Museum,
hot laps and the Highlands Taxi. Open 10am to 5pm through March.
-
Anderson ParkBarry Avenue
Adventure playground, big lawns and a free 18 hole disc golf course.
The Cromwell Swim Centre is on the same site.
-
Cromwell Mini GolfBy the Big Fruit
18 holes right next to the giant fruit sculpture. Cheap, quick and
settles arguments.
-
River Rock Hot PoolsCromwell
Five private hot pools. Book one for after three days on your feet
in a dusty paddock.
-
Kawarau Bungy CentreKawarau Gorge, 20 min
The original bungy bridge, on the road toward Queenstown. Watching
from the viewing platform is free, which is how most families do it.
-
Golden Hills Horse Treks & Paintball CentralCromwell
Horse trekking through the hill country, or paintball if you have
teenagers who need running down.
Idea 04
Fill the boot with fruit on the way home
This is orchard country and Easter lands at the good end of the season.
The cherries and apricots are long gone by late March, but the apples and
pears are at their best, and the roadside stalls on State Highway 6 are
still going. It costs almost nothing and it is the most Central Otago
thing you can do.
Where to go 3 spots
-
Jackson OrchardsSH6, 5 min north
Five generations of fruit growing. Roadside store with coffee and real
fruit ice cream, plus a 45 minute orchard tour daily on the hour
between 9am and 4pm where you eat as you go.
-
Mrs Jones Fruit StallJust out of town
The big roadside sign you cannot miss. Apples and pears at this time
of year, straight off the orchard behind it.
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The Big FruitSH6, town entrance
A 13 metre stack of giant fruit built in 1990 to celebrate the
district's orchards. Ridiculous, beloved, and the obligatory photo.