Drive the Kawarau River gorge from Queenstown's Frankton to the gold-rush town of Alexandra — 90 kilometres through New Zealand's most dramatic inland scenery. Kawarau Bridge Bungy, Gibbston Valley wines, Nevis Bluff, Clyde Dam, and the schist-stone streets of historic Clyde.

本导览的站点（20）

1. 1
   Welcome & Safety Welcome to the Kawarau Gorge run — one of New Zealand's great drives, right out of Queenstown's backyard. You're starting at the Frankton roundabout, and over the next hour and a half you'll trace the
2. 2
   Kawarau Falls & Frankton Arm As you cross the Kawarau River bridge, look left — that's Kawarau Falls, where Lake Wakatipu drains into the river. The lake level drops and rises a full inch every five minutes, a phenomenon Māori ca
3. 3
   Shotover Country You're in Shotover Country — named after the river that in 1863 was called the richest river in the world. Gold yields here were extraordinary. One prospector panned 32 ounces in a single afternoon —
4. 4
   Lake Hayes Lake Hayes is one of the most painted landscapes in New Zealand. William Fox camped here in the 1860s and painted it three times. The lake fills a glacially-carved trough — no inlet stream, no outlet,
5. 5
   Entering the Gorge You're entering the Kawarau Gorge now. The road narrows and the walls come in fast. The river carved this gorge through ancient schist — that flat, layered stone you'll see everywhere through Central
6. 6
   Kawarau Bridge Bungy On your left — the historic Kawarau Bridge. Built in 1880, it was the main route between Queenstown and Central Otago for over a hundred years. In 1988, AJ Hackett commercialized bungy jumping here. H
7. 7
   Gibbston Valley — Valley of the Vines Welcome to Gibbston — the Valley of the Vines. This is New Zealand's most altitude-challenged wine region. Sitting at 320 metres, by all logic too cold and too windy. And yet Central Otago pinot noir
8. 8
   Deep into the Gorge You're at the tightest section of the Kawarau Gorge now. The river drops fast here — it's one of New Zealand's best grade-four rafting rivers. The gorge walls reach two hundred metres in places. Those
9. 9
   Nevis Bluff Nevis Bluff, on your right — that three-hundred-metre wall of rock is the most technically challenging section of the Otago Central Rail Trail. Cyclists on the trail cross the bluff face via cable car
10. 10
    Gorge Transition The gorge has some company here — the Otago Central Rail Trail runs along the far bank, and on a clear day you'll see cyclists crossing the narrow bridges between river terraces. The trail follows the
11. 11
    Roaring Meg Roaring Meg — the hydroelectric station on the river bank. Built in 1931 to power gold dredges downstream. The Meg Creek falls into the Kawarau here, creating a cascade that still generates 4.2 megawa
12. 12
    Goldfields Mining Centre Coming up — the Goldfields Mining Centre at Kawarau Gorge. Active goldfield from the 1860s through the 1930s. The dredges and sluicing equipment have been preserved where they stopped working. You can
13. 13
    Approaching Cromwell The gorge opens out now into the Cromwell Basin — a broad flat-floored valley surrounded by tawny hills. The transition is dramatic: one minute you're in a tight gorge, the next you're in what looks l
14. 14
    Cromwell & Sanga's Pies Cromwell. Population six thousand and growing fast. If you're looking for a pie stop — Sanga's Pies on the main road is the genuine article. Lamb and mushroom. Don't skip it. Cromwell's old town is un
15. 15
    Lake Dunstan & Heading South Lake Dunstan, on your left — twenty-six kilometres long, created entirely by the Clyde Dam in 1992. The flooding of the Clutha River valley was controversial: Cromwell's historic town was lost, valuab
16. 16
    Mid Lake Dunstan You're driving along what used to be a productive river valley floor. Before 1992, this was orchard country — cherry and apricot trees extending down to the Clutha River, farmed by families who'd work
17. 17
    Clyde Dam The Clyde Dam — 102 metres high, 3.5 kilometres of tunnels, 15 years to build. It generates 464 megawatts — about eight percent of New Zealand's electricity. The fault line it sits on runs directly be
18. 18
    Clyde Historic Village You're in Clyde — one of Central Otago's best-preserved gold rush towns. The stone buildings date from the 1860s and 1870s, all local schist construction. The Dunstan goldfield centred here in 1862, a
19. 19
    Central Otago Wine Country You're in the heart of Central Otago wine country — the world's southernmost commercial wine region. Forty-five degrees south latitude, the same as Burgundy but in the opposite hemisphere. This valley
20. 20
    Grey Ridge Vineyard Grey Ridge Vineyard, coming up on your right — one of Central Otago's smaller independent producers. This area is the Alexandra Basin — drier and windier than Gibbston, which makes the fruit tighter a

导览内容仅供娱乐和一般信息参考。请独立核实实际细节。不能替代官方指导。