Skippers Road is one of the most outstanding of New Zealand's surviving nineteenth century roads. Built in four stages from 1883 to 1890, and only a single lane wide, its construction had to overcome major physical obstacles before it could be completed. The most spectacular of these (Pinchers Bluff) required the removal of large amounts of rock to create a road platform. The road and the country it travels through are both spectacular and scenic. The road is most significant too as, in all likelihood, the only nineteenth century road that has remained in continuous use without major upgrading. The road was built to improve access to the upper Shotover River for miners, particularly for those seeking to install large machinery. It also provided a better means of access for those living in the canyon than the existing packtrack (1863). Mining's heyday was over by the time the road was completed but it continued to be used by farmers and tourists and those mining operations that lingered on in the twentieth century. Although much of the road remains as it did in the nineteenth century, the topography, harsh climate, widening, and regular maintenance have led to the loss of some significant features, including some of its stone walls, famous features intended to prevent vehicles from toppling off the road. Today tourism is the road's biggest user, with many people coming to see the road or use it as a means of access to bungy jumping operations or white water rafting. Skippers Road is an iconic New Zealand road of outstanding heritage significance.