Autumn Festival in Arrowtown - by Julie

One always hopes that a last night in a place would be memorable: memorable for the right reasons. Our last night in Aoraki was memorable for all the wrong reasons! The wind blew and blew, and I couldn’t sleep.  And when we finally arose, earlier than usual, there was a power cut.  No hot water! No cuppa!! And with day light saving also gone, I felt more than a little out of kilter.

A quick getaway was called for; and we were on the road before we could say “Rabbits, Rose Hips and Rifleman.” A great café in Twizel, the Shanty Cafe, is where we headed; and after and a hearty Mackenzie country breakfast and cup of tea, I began to feel myself again.

By lunch we had settled at the Lake Benmore Holiday Park . It is not quite on the shores of Benmore - but close enough - and just a couple of km east of Omarama.  We got on our bikes and followed a section of the ‘Alps-to-Ocean cycle track’ around Lake Benmore to end up in Sailor’s Cutting.  We spent two days in the area visiting familiar spots including the Power Station that Wayne worked on in the 1980s.  A highlight was the Twizel breeding programme for the Black Stilt; one of NZ’s endangered native birds. Sadly, the breeding programme, and the reintroduction of the birds into their natural habitat, is proving to be a challenge.

Black Stilts in Breeding Programme

 

Alps-to-Ocean cycle track around Lake Benmore

 

Lake Benmore

 

Omarama to Arrowtown wasn’t far, and a glorious day welcomed us to the annual Arrowtown Autumn Festival. Over the next ten days we did two long cycles trips. The first was around Lake Hayes, which was very pleasant. The second was a return journey around the Lake Hayes estate and the Lower Shotover Bridge (nearly 50km), which nearly killed me!!.

 
 

We joined some of the autumn festival activities. Market day was a brilliant sunny day, and we enjoyed a country market atmosphere with music and entertainment, colourful stalls and food, of course… whitebait patties.  We bought beautiful cheeses from Gibbston Valley and peach, nectarine and cardamom chutney and boysenberry jam from Riverton.   We also made the most of a free guided tour of Arrowtown's main centre; also taking in a  couple of local churches and the cemetery.

 
 
As you can image the colours of Arrowtown were spectacular, and we were delighted to be there at such a beautiful time of the year.

Colours of Arrowtown

 

We also discovered the Arrowtown Chinese settlement, a historic site, worthy of a visit. Arrowtown, like numerous small settlements in Central Otago, had its origins in the 1860’s gold rush era, which attracted many migrants including Chinese. Sadly the Chinese experienced hardships and discrimination, not the least being immigration taxes - poll taxes - which demanded that Chinese pay 100 pounds for each Chinese immigrant  entering NZ – equivalent to one years salary.  Therefore it was difficult to bring family members to NZ  and as a consequence, many Chinese men died alone, a long way from home. DOC has preserved some of the remains of the Chinese community along the Arrow River and it is a testament to the hardships they endured and the contribution they made to the gold rush era.  It was a moving experience viewing their living conditions and reading their narratives.

Arrowtown produced snow for two days, an unexpected bonus. But never fear the Sabbaticus kept us snug and warm.

A visit to Central Otago would be nothing without a visit to a winery or two.  We visited Gibbston Valley wines and enjoyed a beautiful late lunch with a selection of their wines. We also found the home of Roaring Meg, a Pinot Noir we have enjoyed in the past; it’s made by Mt. Difficulty in Bannockburn. Our visits were timely as having been on the road for nearly 8 weeks, the wine cellar on board Sabbaticus needed to be restocked.

 

Our final night in Arrowtown was a more positive experience than our one at Aoraki.  We had dinner at the Stables, a lovely restaurant in a historic building that was, not surprisingly, once a stable. It was very quaint with low ceilings, wooden doors, shutters and stone walls.  We were on the second floor – essentially a loft… all very tastefully redecorated. We were introduced to yet another great Pinot Noir, this time from Cromwell called Wooingtree. I enjoyed Goats Cheese and polenta cakes, with roast pumpkin and beetroot salad (mouth-watering and possibly my new winter favourite), while Wayne enjoyed Bendigo Rabbit Drunken Fig pie.

Arrowtown to Clyde and The Otago Rail Trail - a new adventure awaits.
 
Photos of the quant and the old around Arrowtown.



 

 

 

 

 

Julie's Baking - Sun Dried Tomato Bread (GF)