Biking the Arrow River Bridges Trail

Our accommodations last night we’re at a Kiwi Holiday Park, a wonderful combination of campground and motel units with a communal kitchen and common room for dining, playing games, etc. Courtney cooked our breakfast before we set off for a 2-hour drive to the gold mining town of Arrowtown. The Arrow River is where they filmed part of the scene in the Lord of the Rings where Frodo crosses the river with Arwen after being stabbed by one of the Black Riders.

We were fitted with mountain bikes for an 8-mile ride on a gravel trail which followed the river to the first commercial bungee jumping bridge. Fun to watch the jumpers!

Driving to Wanaka, our overnight destination (yes, we were there with Backroads!), we stopped to drop a donation in at ‘Bradrona.’ It is a site in Cardrona that became popular for leaving bras on a fence. After the government took it down several times, a local farmer allowed it on their land, for breast cancer donations.Read more