Kate Webster I met my driver at 10am outside Marmolada Cafe on Shotover Street, coffee in hand, with no real idea what the next six hours would hold beyond a vague promise of mountains, a historic pub and two of Otago’s prettiest towns.
Remarkable Scenic Tours, run by husband-and-wife team Wayne and Kathy Hansen, keeps its groups small and its vans comfortable, and there was an easy, unhurried feel to the morning from the moment we pulled out of central Queenstown. No rigid script, no hotel-to-hotel shuffle, just a local behind the wheel and a loop through some of the South Island’s finest scenery ahead of us.
Up and over the Crown Range
The road out of Queenstown climbs almost immediately, and within half an hour we were switchbacking up the Crown Range, New Zealand’s highest sealed through-road. At the summit, 1,076 metres above sea level, our guide pulled in at the lookout and let the group loose with their cameras. The Cardrona Valley unrolled below in a wash of tussock and golden-brown hills, the kind of view that makes you forget how recently you were drinking a flat white in a cafe car park. There was no rush here either, just enough time to take it in properly before the long, snaking descent on the other side toward Cardrona.
A yarn and a dram at the Cardrona Hotel
The Cardrona Hotel has been standing since the 1860s, when it was one of four hotels serving the prospectors who flooded into the valley chasing gold, and it still wears its history well, all weatherboard and wide verandah. Our stop came with a complimentary drink and a round of stories from our guide about the characters who once passed through, which went down easily in the garden with the mountains still visible in every direction. It is the kind of place that rewards lingering, and I could have happily stayed longer than our schedule allowed before climbing back into the van for the run on to Wānaka.
An hour by the lake in Wānaka
Wānaka gave us a full hour to ourselves, which was just enough time to walk the lakefront down to that lone, wind-bent willow growing out of the shallows, famous enough to have its own queue of photographers waiting for a clear shot. I left the crowd to it and wandered along the shore instead, lake on one side and the Southern Alps stacked up on the other, before ducking into town for a coffee and a browse through the shops. It is a town that invites you to slow down, and an hour felt like both too little and exactly enough.
Arrowtown’s golden-era streets
The last stop was Arrowtown, another hour of free time to wander streets lined with heritage cottages and old gold-rush facades, now filled with cafes and small shops rather than miners and stables. I ducked in and out of a few stores, stopped for a late lunch I’d bought myself since meals are not included on this tour, and spent a good stretch just walking the tree-lined avenues taking photos of buildings that have barely changed in over a century. By the time we regrouped for the drive back into Queenstown, the whole day had the unhurried, well-paced feel of a trip planned by people who genuinely love this part of the country.
We rolled back into Shotover Street at 4.20pm, six hours after we’d set out, having crossed the country’s highest sealed road, raised a glass in a 160-year-old pub and wandered two of the prettiest towns Otago has to offer, all without once feeling rushed. For a single day out of Queenstown, it is hard to beat. Book the Arrowtown & Wānaka Highlights Tour with Remarkable Scenic Tours to see it for yourself.