Queenstown to Mount Cook via the Cardrona Road

This post takes you to the South Island of New Zealand. We are touring the island with a campervan and now driving from Queenstown to Mount Cook.

We are taking the spectacular Crown Range (Cardrona) road from Queenstown to Wanaka after which we will drive through Lindis Pass and along the shores of Lake Pukapi . At the end of the post we will reach Aoraki Mount Cook Village.

Lake Pukapi and Mount Cook, New Zealand South Island

The Otago region we are driving through is a spectacular place and certainly one of the most beautiful areas of New Zealand. There are snow-capped mountains, green valleys with rolling hills and farmland, turquoise mountain lakes, deep gorges and vast plateaus with dry grassland.

You are welcome to join our journey through the South Island of New Zealand and from Queenstown to Mount Cook!

This is post number 7 on our New Zealand South Island round trip. You will find the whole road trip on my New Zealand South Island Road Trip in 11 Days page that shows our whole itinerary around South Island on a map.

Queenstown to Mount Cook Drive on the Map

This is the Queenstown to Mount Cook drive on the map. The distance is 300 km and on the way you will see Wanaka, Lindis Pass and Lake Pukapi.

Driving time Queenstown to Mount Cook is four hours one way without stops. But as the scenery is fantastic all the way you might want to stop many times along the way. You might spend a whole day on this journey. And if you like mountain hiking you might even want to use two or more days in this pretty region of New Zealand.

Crown Range and Cardrona Road or the Cromwell Route?

There are two alternative routes from Queenstown to Wanaka that you can choose between, firstly the Crown Range road (Cardrona Road) that I will show you in this post and secondly the longer Cromwell route that you can read about in my other post.

The two roads are different. As the Crown Range road climbs to high altitudes and crosses a mountain chain the Cromwell route doesn’t climb at all. It follows valleys all the way from Wanaka to Queenstown and the most scenic part is the drive in Kawarau Gorge.

So I will show you the sights on the Crown Range route in this post and the Cromwell route in another blog post New Zealand Drive: West Coast to Queenstown.

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Now we will start our journey from Queenstown to Mount Cook and our first stop will be the postcard-pretty Lake Hayes:

Lake Hayes

Queenstown to Mount Cook: Lake Hayes

Lake Hayes is one of the most scenic lakes in New Zealand so stop here and look at the lake! It looks marvelous in autumn and it must be that all times of the year. Like all others we tried our best to capture Lake Hayes with our phones and cameras.

Lake Hayes, New Zealand

For more information on Lake Hayes and what you can do there check out my previous blog post Queenstown Day Trips by Car.

Lake Hayes in autumn

After Lake Hayes make a short side-trip to the historic gold mining town of Arrowtown – if you haven’t already been there. Arrowtown is a must see place in New Zealand and I have photos on it in my other Queenstown area post.

This is what the landscape between Lake Hayes and Arrowtown looks like:

Scenery between Mount Cook and Queenstown

Between Lake Hayes and Arrowtown you will leave the State Highway 6 and turn to the Crown Range Road to Cardrona and Wanaka.

Crown Range Road

Queenstown to Mount Cook: Crown Range Road

To take the Crown Range route you need good weather conditions, so check the weather forecast at least if you’re traveling with a campervan.

The road climbs to high altitudes and there can be heavy winds and snow that might cause you trouble.

The climb up to Crown Range is steep with lots of sharp bends. There are parking areas where you can stop and take photos of the incredible views to Kawarau Gorge and Queenstown.

After the first climb there is a plateau where driving is easier but then the road starts climbing again.

Driving in New Zealand Southern Alps

Crown Range Summit

Queenstown to Mount Cook: Crown Range summit

The Crown Range Summit is more than 1000 m above sea level. The air is refreshing, that will say cold…

There are some walking tracks that you can follow to get more views. We saw many walkers take one hour the Rock Peak climb that offers views to Kawarau Gorge wineries.

Cardrona Valley

Driving down into Cardrona Valley

From the Crown Range Summit there is a deep descent down to Cardrona Valley.

In the good driving conditions we had we didn’t find the road particularly challenging. And the views were great all the time!

Cardrona

Cardrona village post office

In the middle of Cardrona Valley is the tiny resort town of Cardrona that looks like a wild west town. Some views of Cardrona:

Cardrona Hotel

Coffee stop at Cardrona Hotel , drive from Queenstown to Mount Cook

Cardrona Hotel is right in the middle of the village. The building in itself is iconic and the quiet garden behind the hotel is just lovely.

We had a cappuccino in the Cardrona Hotel garden sitting in the afternoon sunshine. The weather was not really warm but it was at least much warmer than the freezing air on the summit.

A short distance from Cardrona is a ski resort that operates in the winter, Cardrona Alpine Resort.

Wanaka

Driving from Queenstown to Mount Cook: Wanaka

The Cardrona Valley Road brings you down to Wanaka at the southern end of a lake with the same name. Wanaka is one of the most popular holiday spots in New Zealand and people come here for hiking and water activities in the summer and for skiing in the winter. There are many skiing resorts, not just Cardrona that we already saw.

Wanaka has a pretty setting between mountains and the lake, and the lake shore is all lined with trees and willows. This picture shows a hill called Eely Point. Eely Point is almost in the center of Wanaka and it has walking tracks.

Glendhu Bay

Road to Glendhu Bay

The Wanaka area looks so much like what you imagine New Zealand looks like so we decided to stay here a little bit and look how it was like.

We took a small road to west towards Mount Aspiring National Park. After a while we came to Glendhu Bay. There were beautiful Lake Wanaka views, a number of walking tracks and a camping site.

Queenstown to Mount Cook: Lake Wanaka

After Glendhu Bay we found more great walking tracks and all the driving and walking took so much time that we stayed the night at Glendhu Bay.

Lake Wanaka and Southern Mountains

Camping in Glendhu Bay

Glendhu Bay Camping, New Zealand

We almost had a lakeshore camping of our own! It was low season and mid-week so there were only a couple of other camping guests. We parked our campervan on the most scenic spot we could find and prepared a dinner in our campervan kitchen. And looked at the lake and the mountains while dining.

The next morning we had a beach walk after which it was time to continue our Queenstown to Mount Cook trip.

Walking on Glendu Beach, Wanaka

The place was this: Glendhu Bay Lakeside Holiday Park

Lindis Valley

Queenstown to Mount Cook drive: Lindis Valley

From Wanaka you follow the Cromwell Road or the Tarras Road on the other side of the river. This is open farming land with sheep, cattle and wineries. Tarras is a pretty small village. It was almost the only village in the area.

After Tarras we entered the long Lindis Valley where we could see amazing white mountain ridges at distance, all snow-covered.

Lindis Pass

Lindis Pass, New Zealand

The next destination on our Queenstown to Mount Cook self drive route is Lindis Pass. The road through Lindis Pass is 60 km long. It climbs through rocky gorges to grass-filled plains on the summit. The grass is very soft and thick and it has a yellow-brownish colour. Lindis Pass has been given a Scenic Reserve status. It’s a tussock grassland reserve.

Before reaching the summit at 971 meters you drive long distances up and down the gorges. Lindis Pass is a pleasant drive in an empty landscape. No houses, no cattle, just the brown nature and the tussock grassland.

After you have done Lindis Pass there is a big plateau and the towns of Omarama, Glenbrook and Twizel. There are many man-made lakes as a result of a hydro-electric development scheme. The biggest of them is Lake Ruataniwha south of Twitzel.

But if you want to see a lake with a real SCENERY, go to the next lake, Lake Pukaki.

Lake Pukaki

Driving from Queenstown to Mount Cook: Lake Pukaki

Lake Pukaki gets its water from the Tasman Glacier below Mount Cook. That’s why the water is crystal clear and ice-cold.

The north end of Lake Pukaki is surrounded by the Southern Alps with Mount Cook in the middle, and the south end has lower rolling hills.

Lake Pukaki shoreline

You can see lots of moraine all over round the lake. Lake Pukaki was created when moraine from a glacier blocked the valley.

This is a lake you can’t stop looking at. So just sit down and enjoy the scenery.

White mountain chain behind the lake

Lake Pukaki water has a distinctive blue colour, a similar colour to the small glacier lakes higher up in the mountains.

The shores of Lake Pukaki

Lake Pukaki in Evening Light

Lake Pukaki and Mount Cook

These pictures are from the southern shore of the lake, towards north.

After sunset Lake Pukaki certainly looks even more amazing, backed by the Southern Mountains.

Queenstown to Mount Cook drive: Lake Pukaki after sunset

Aoraki Mount Cook Village

At the north end of Lake Pukaki is the only villge, Aoraki/Mount Cook. It’s a very small resort with just a few hotels and camping areas.

But it’s a good place to stay in since Aoraki/Mount Cook village is a perfect base from where to explore Mt Cook National Park and its glaciers and glacier lakes.

Photographing the white peaks of Mount Cook

My next post on New Zealand will tell you what you can do in Mount Cook National Park:

New Zealand: Short Walks in Mount Cook National Park

I also have a post about driving on from Mount Cook:

New Zealand Drive: Mount Cook to Christchurch

Routes and Trips Travel Guide with Maps and Photos