
Kawarau Gorge
Steep schist river gorge of gold-rush relics, rapids and a stream named for a legendary loud barmaid.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Kawarau Gorge near Queenstown stays with the gold-rush diggers of the eighteen-sixties and the legend they left on the map: how a noisy side stream came to be called Roaring Meg. You'll hear two rival versions of who Meg was, from a night at a dancing saloon to a red-headed barmaid, and why locals still argue over them. Best heard beside the Kawarau, within earshot of the water.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
Skippers Canyon
Sheer schist gorge above a snow-fed river, crossed by a historic suspension bridge high over the water.
Mt Crichton Loop Track
Beech-forest loop past a sluiced gold gorge, a waterfall and a Depression-era stone hut.
Macetown
Abandoned gold-rush settlement with a restored bakehouse, cottage and stamping battery by a river.
12 Mile Delta
Lakeside river-delta campsite at a creek mouth, with trails to a gold-miner's stone hut and waterfall.
Historic Arrowtown Chinese Settlement
Restored huts of gold-rush Chinese miners beside a creek, with an original stone merchant store.
Arrowtown
Historic gold-rush village of stone shops and miners' cottages beneath an avenue of old trees.