The Cardrona flows north for 40 kilometres (25 mi) down the steep narrow Cardrona Valley. Its headwaters are near New Zealand's highest main road, the Crown Range route.[1] The river runs past the settlement of Cardona and the Cardrona skifield, then south of Wānaka township.
The original name of the river is the Ōrau. It was a traditional Māori route linking Whakatipu Waimāori (Lake Wakatipu) with lakes Wānaka and Hāwea. Ngāi Tahu recorded Ōrau as a kāinga mahinga kai (food-gathering place) where tuna (eels), pora ('Māori turnip') and weka were gathered.[2]
