Dunstan Self-Drive Heritage Trail: Clyde, Earnscleugh, Manuherikia

This is a self-drive trip from Clyde, through the Manuherikia Valley to St Bathans and back, optionally returning via the Ida Valley.

The drive is 176km in length and is intended to take something in excess of four hours. Allow an extra hour if you take in the Ida Valley. Along the way you will visit many sites of historical importance. It is an area rich in the early European history of New Zealand. There are several excellent places to stop for refreshments including the Chatto Creek Tavern and the Vulcan Hotel in St Bathans.

The area known as The Dunstan stretches from Clyde into the Manuherikia Valley and was one of New Zealand’s richest gold fields. It was visited by Maori, who camped by rivers in summer and the earliest European settlers were sheep farmers whose runs extended over thousands of hectares. The discovery of gold at Lawrence in 1861 heralded a huge rush as more fields, yielding enormous quantities of gold, were found throughout Central Otago. Thousands of miners were lured here despite the extremely harsh climate and environment. Many stayed to establish permanent townships.

Clyde, Ophir, and St Bathans are the most authentically preserved and significant gold rush settlements in New Zealand; little remains of many other settlements apart from their names and some ruins. Others have survived with a few permanent residents and old cottages now used as holiday homes. Some old buildings have become part of local farms. Gold prospectors and mining companies still search for gold in the district.

This trail is published by the Promote Dunstan group http://www.promotedunstan.org.nz