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Tracing Arrowtown’s Past: A Self Guided Audio Tour

  • 1.5–2 hours
  • Free cancellation up to 24h before
  • Guided in English
  • Instant confirmation

Highlights

Beyond Arrowtown’s idyllic setting along the Arrow River, there’s a complex story of hardship and transformation. On this walking tour, you’ll find out how a quiet pastoral valley became one of the richest goldfields in the world, where a diverse community took root. As you explore the historic main street, secluded pathways, and the remarkable Chinese Settlement, you’ll detect echoes of its dramatic past. You’ll also meet the characters that shaped this unique Central Otago town. The tour begins at the striking ’X Marks the Spot’ sculpture, where you’ll find out how it symbolically anchors Arrowtown’s gold-rush story. You’ll trace the early township layout, wandering streets lined with cottages from the 1800s, and stand where the first gold discoveries triggered a rush that reshaped the region almost overnight.

Inclusions

What's included

  • Lifetime access to this tour in English before your booking date and after it
  • Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
  • App for Android and iOS
  • Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
  • Directions to the starting point so that when you’re in the right place, the tour will start

What's not

  • Smartphone and headphones
  • Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour
  • Food and drink
  • Transportation

Itinerary

  1. Our starting location, X Marks the Spot, the very beginning of the gold rush in Arrowtown.

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  2. The church is open every day and visitors are very welcome. There is no charge. Enter to see where Australasia’s first saint, Mary of the Cross MacKillop prayed for a short time.

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  3. We pass by St John's Presbytarian Church. The church is open most days for viewing.

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  4. It is the oldest Church in continuous use in Arrowtown and has served the local Anglican Community for many years. The church is on the main road into Arrowtown and is open for visitors.

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  5. A must visit at the end of the tour. The museum costs to enter but it is well worth the visit if you would like to learn more about Arrowtown and it's surrounding areas.

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  6. It is free to walk around the Chinese Settlement, we talk about it as the tour walks through the site.

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  7. A yummy place to pick up a picnic and stop off in a park along the tour, or by the river.

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  8. A great place to stop in and grab a coffee or some lunch.

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  9. A great place to cool off in the shade or browse if the market is on.

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Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Know before you go

Meeting point
This tour starts at X Marks the Spot. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.
Pickup
Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
Ticket type
Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Operated by
VoiceMap Audio Tours
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • The total tour time includes walking the route and passing by the attractions

How it compares in New Zealand, outside the cities

  • Its from-price is 91% below the median of the 124 experiences we list in New Zealand, outside the cities.
  • It is shorter than most of them.
  • The operator lists free cancellation on it.

Special offers in New Zealand, outside the cities

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Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.

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