Old Cromwell Town
A rebuilt gold rush stone-building heritage street on the shore of Lake Dunstan, with Central Otago fruit stalls, making it a rest stop on the Queenstown–Wānaka self-drive route.
Old Cromwell Town (Cromwell Heritage Precinct) lies on the shore of Lake Dunstan in Cromwell. When the Clyde Dam was built in the 1990s, the old town was flooded. Locals dismantled some of the 19th-century gold rush stone buildings and shops and rebuilt them by the lake in their original form. Today the area has cafés, galleries, craft shops and a Sunday market. Entry is free and it is open all day. A stroll takes 30–60 minutes. Cromwell calls itself “New Zealand’s fruit bowl,” and a giant fruit sculpture stands at the town entrance. In summer, roadside fruit stalls sell cherries, apricots and ice cream. It is about 60 km from Queenstown (about 50 minutes' drive). It is often combined with the Kawarau Gorge, the Gibbston wineries, or trips to Wānaka and Mount Cook.
Opening hours
Open all day (shops about 10:00 AM–4:00 PM)
Nearby sights
- Nevis Bungy
- Cardrona Hotel
- Cardrona Bra Fence
- Crown Range Road Summit Lookout
- Gibbston Valley
- Kawarau Bridge Bungy
- Cardrona Alpine Resort
- Wānaka Township & Lakefront