William Fox discovered gold in the Arrow River in 1862 and in a very short time the population of the tiny Macetown township grow up to 1500 miners at the junction of 12 Mile Creek. By 1865 most of the gold was excavated by the miners and the population shrunk rapidity.
At the early1900 the town was deserted and only a few original buildings remain, one of these is the Bake house which is the first building visible of the historic Macetown. The Department of conversation has faithfully restored these buildings over the last few years, there are also remains of mining equipment to be seen.
Over the ~15km of Macetown track there are 22 river crossings, some of which have quite rocky riverbeds and they can be pretty deep even when there’s been no recent rain so potentially be prepared to get wet, and walk a crossing first if you are unsure about it.
As well as adventure motorcyclists Macetown Road is popular with the 4×4 community and walkers/trampers so as always be prepared to meet traffic at any time and be respectful to other users.
There is a DOC campsite near the far end of Macetown Road if you want to camp overnight.
https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/otago/places/macetown-historic-reserve/things-to-do/macetown-campsite/
Contributed by: @brainflex, @stefan-innocente
Track type: Gravel Road
Track composition: Bumpy, Loose, Undulating
Slippery when wet? No
Suitable for bikes <650cc? Intermediate
Suitable for bikes >650cc? Experienced
River crossings? Yes
