AT A GLANCE
Otago 150th Anniversary Walkway
Grade: Easy
Time: 1 1/4 hours return
What: An attractive tree-screened ramble along the banks of the Arrow River.
Directions: Signposted from the car park by the river behind the Buckingham St shops.
This very pleasant flat walk on a good track starts along the near side of the clear and fast-flowing Arrow River, shaded by willow, sycamore and larch.
After 10 minutes the track reaches a footbridge, and from this point the walk becomes a loop along both sides of the river. You can either cross this bridge or walk further on to the second bridge.
On the western side of the river the track passes the site of the Criterion Quartz Reef mine established in the 1860s, although nothing remains of that now.
This is a very attractive shaded walk on a hot summer’s day, and there are several small sandy beaches and swimming holes, some with rope swings.
AT A GLANCE
Tobins Track
Grade: Medium
Time: 1 1/2 hours return
What: Expansive prospects of the Arrowtown Basin and surrounding ranges.
Directions: Signposted from the car park by the river behind the Buckingham St shops.
From the car park, follow the river downstream for about 10 minutes and then cross over the footbridge. From the bridge, the path goes steadily uphill on a well-graded 4WD track to the lookout.
Initially the walk is through larch and sycamore, but about halfway up the trees begin to thin and extensive views gradually unfold over the Arrowtown Basin and the mountains beyond.
The views from the top are superb and include the Remarkables, Arrowtown, Lake Hayes and Lake Wakatipu.
Thomas Tobin, after whom the track is named, built the road to Crown Terrace in 1874, and lived on the road just uphill from the river.
The ford by the bridge was the location of the famous Ringwraiths scene in the first Lord of the Rings film The Fellowship of the Ring.
