Skippers area short walks
Located in Skippers area in the Otago region
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Introduction
There are a number of short walks in the Skippers area, providing an insight to the early pioneer mining era.Dog access
Skippers Point Cemetery
Time: 5 min one way
Start/finish: follow the road to the left of the information shelter and turn right at the first junction.
A silent, stone-fenced record of Skippers’ pioneers, that contains 20 headstones and graves.
Johnston’s Otago Hotel
Time: 5 min one way
Start/finish: Skippers Point Cemetery
Near the cemetery are the stone ruins of Skippers’ only pub, Johnston’s Otago Hotel, the centre of many of Skippers social activities.
Skippers Point School
Skippers Point School
Time: 10 min one way
Start/finish: follow the road to the left of the information shelter.
The Upper Shotover Public School, later known as Skippers Point School, was open between 1879 and 1927. DOC restored it between 1989 and 1992 and installed interpretation panels. These provide an insight into the school, gold mining and life in Skippers.
Mt Aurum Homestead
Time: 10 min one way
Start/finish: follow the road to the left of the information shelter
One of only two timber buildings remaining from Skippers’ gold mining era, inside it features information on the homestead and the station.
Pleasant Creek Terrace
Pleasant Terrace Historic Walk
Time: 30 min one way
Start/finish: Skippers Point School
Follow the easy 4WD track across Londonderry then Pleasant Terraces to panels describing the obvious mining and sluicing scars in front of you.
Beyond Pleasant Terrace, trampers with some experience can make their way up Stony Creek to the junction with Murphys Creek North and pass more gold mining relics along the way.
The track up Stony Creek is neither marked nor maintained.
From Queenstown, travel along Gorge Road to Arthur’s Point and take the turn-off to Coronet Peak ski field. Off that road, turn left onto the unsealed road signposted to Skippers. From Skippers Saddle, continue on the narrow and winding 13 kilometre Gorge Road to Skippers Bridge and Mount Aurum Recreation Reserve. This is a one-and-a-half- to two-hour drive.
Only experienced drivers should attempt this journey. Because of its challenges, and precipitous drop-offs, this is not a road on which to learn gravel-driving techniques.
During high winds small-sized branches are falling out of dead trees within the densely forested pine stands in Mount Aurum Recreation Reserve. Avoid areas of dead trees during high winds.
Contacts
| Whakatipu-wai-Māori/Queenstown Visitor Centre | |
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| Phone | +64 3 442 7935 |
| queenstownvc@doc.govt.nz | |
| Address | 50 Stanley Street Queenstown 9300 |
| Hours | See visitor centre hours |