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The Otago region in the South Island is an area full of gold mining  romance and adventure.  These historic goldtowns are often found deep in the valleys, surrounded by rugged landscape that reminds us of the goldminers' struggles to strike it RICH!

Skippers Canyon

Skippers Road is probably the only public road in New Zealand that offers no insurance cover for rental cars.  So you'll either have to take your own vehicle or join an off-road tour to travel to this narrow, winding road carved by hand during the gold rush era in the 1860s.  If you feel energetic, you can take a mountain bike and camp overnight at Skippers.

The canyon is full of gold mining history with a lot of sweat labour from Chinese goldminers.  Here you learn about tailrace, stamping battery, jaw crusher, sluicing guns, fluming, sheet piling and all the things related to goldmining in the 19th century.

Today, adrenalin seekers can take a leap of faith at the Pipeline (the highest land-based bungy bridge at 102m), or skim over the shallow water of the Shotover in a jetboat.

View of Shotover - view from the Pipeline looking towards Stony Creek and the old Skippers Township.

Lighthouse Rock, Skippers Canyon - horizontal layers of distinctive rock formations

Skippers Suspension Bridge (1901) - one of the older bungy sites operated by AJ Hackett

Thousands rushed to Arrowtown and Macetown in the 1860s when gold was discovered.  Today, Macetown is a ghost town, accessible only by off-road vehicles, on foot, or mountain bike.  The trip to Macetown is an interesting one with over 25 river crossings.

Just 20 minutes from Queenstown, Arrowtown in autumn is absolutely beautiful.  A Chinese settlement was established in Arrowtown in the late 1860s.  The schist stone huts in the area give a rare glimpse into the past.  Hidden behind the beauty of the place was the harsh environment in which the goldminers had to survive, with sub-zero temperature in winter.  Today, the Arrow River still holds riches although we only found two tiny dots of gold dusts in our pan!

A stone throw from Arrowtown is the famous Millbrook Resort and its world class golf course.

The best time to admire the beauty of Arrowtown and Macetown is autumn.

The Bakery, Macetown - interestingly a lot of the historical buildings that remain standing were built as bake hourse orginally

Andersen Battery, Macetown - hard to imagine how this stamping implement was transported and assembled in such a remote part of the country!