Day 9 – Over the Crown Range to Wānaka
Today’s ride took us from Arrowtown to Wānaka, crossing the famous Crown Range Road.
Distance-wise it wasn’t a huge day — 56 km with about 726 metres of climbing — but the reputation of the road had been playing on our minds for a while.
We’ve heard plenty of stories about the Crown Range, and very few of them were encouraging.
So we made a sensible decision.
We hired a Sherpa.
Our Sherpa came in the form of Wanaka Bike Transfers, who kindly carried our bags up the mountain. It was the right call. We would have got up there eventually with full loads, but there might have been tears and possibly a hissy fit along the way — and we certainly wouldn’t have been in good shape at the top.
The climb itself is impressive.
It starts with about half a dozen switchbacks at 10–12%, which felt very Alpe d’Huez–like, although we were climbing at a slightly more modest 5 km/h rather than the 20 km/h the professionals manage.
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| Switchbacks |
After the switchbacks there’s still about eight kilometres of steady grinding, with some sections reaching 15% according to my Garmin.
Hard work.
See the ride profile here.
Traffic was slow and respectful, and the reward for the effort was the spectacular view back toward Queenstown.
The summit sits at about 1,070 metres. In the grand scheme of mountains that’s not particularly high, but it is New Zealand’s highest sealed road, so it felt enough to us.
It was cold and overcast at the top with a bit of drizzle, and there were numb fingers and toes on a very quick descent.
The run down toward Wānaka is much easier riding, and we rolled into Cardrona for a well-earned morning tea.
A beef and cheese pie and coffee did the trick.
The pub was already packed at 10 am, with plenty of cyclists around. It looked like several groups had stayed overnight and were just getting started for the day.
Another advantage of credit-card cycling — you can leave whenever you feel like it.
From there it was an easy and very scenic run down into Wānaka.
Interestingly there were huge numbers of cyclists riding the road in the opposite direction, climbing the pass from the Wānaka side. That approach is longer and less steep, so if I had to choose which way to ride it again, that might be the one.
As we descended we passed a lot of new housing developments that at first seemed oddly located in the middle of nowhere. But further down the road the reason becomes clear — the area sits near New Zealand’s largest ski resort, at least according to the roadside signs.
Wānaka itself is a lovely town on the lake of the same name.
Unlike Queenstown or Tekapo, it feels like it’s only partway down the tourism development path, which gives it a much nicer feel. There are great parks and walkways along the lakefront and plenty of pubs, cafés and restaurants.
After today’s ride, a beer this afternoon feels well deserved.
Tomorrow it’s back to reality with fully loaded bikes again. We’re planning about 80 km of fairly undulating riding, and the forecast suggests some rain and wind, so it could be a hard day’s work.
Day Summary
Route: Arrowtown → Wānaka (via Crown Range)
Distance: 56 km
Riding Time: 3 hr 24 min
Climbing: 726 m
Weather: Cool, overcast with drizzle near the summit
Best moment: The view back toward Queenstown from the Crown Range
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