A Jag To Arrowtown FARZANA CONTRACTOR drives back into history and visits a charming little place in which Clint Eastwood riding a black stallion with a gun on his hip would not have been out of place. Arrowtown is Queenstown�s neighbour, more like a cousin. It�s just half an hour away by road, but if it�s a Jaguar ride, it just extends and extends. That�s the idea behind taking the Jag to Arrowtown. You do it leisurely, drive at a comfortable pace, stop where you want, drop in at a winery, do some tastings, have coffee at golf resorts, stop to greet the just born lambs, shyly hiding behind their mamas.
Another nice alternative is to take the big fat, red bus, like our Bombay B.E.S.T. and London ones. These also take you sight-seeing to Arrowtown and for just $ 38. A seat on the top of the double decker, right up front should be just fine. Arrowtown could have been in Arizona, over a 100 years ago. I couldn�t believe my eyes as we purred into its main street. I expected Clint Eastwood to come around from behind the Saloon, riding a black stallion, gun in holster dangling by the hip, finger lingering near the trigger. Arrowtown has got a great history. The fascinating little settlement literally sprang up overnight with the discovery of gold in the Arrow River in 1862. Thousands of miners from around the world flocked to the area and the river became famed as one of the world�s richest sources of alluvial gold. At the height of the Gold Rush, the population rose to over 7,000 people. These pioneers constructed small cottages of stone and timber, established churches and planted handsome avenues of trees, and of course, businesses such as hotels, saloons, gambling dens and dance halls flourished. Their legacy is a picturesque town that retains its old world charm through careful preservation and it�s colourful history. The chaffeur of my Jag was Linda Peek, a lovely lady, very accommodating. I asked her to drive me around Arrowtown three times. Not just the main street, but the residential block. Charming homes with cheerful, flowering gardens, set in quaint architecture on the slopes of a gentle hill. And there are just that many houses. If the population was 7,000 during the Gold Rush, today 150 years later it is just 20,000! As I walked along the town the quaintness was even more apparent. Cobbled main road, stone and timber cottages, a cheery red, wood and glass phone booth. The Lakes District Museum exhibits an authentic picture of Early Maori in the Southern Lakes District, of the harsh pioneering days of the European Settlers and the exciting gold rush era of the mid to late 1800s. It also includes the town�s original Bank of New Zealand premises, the bank�s stables and the town baker�s oven all built circa 1875. The museum also runs Arrowtown�s Historic Post Office. I was delighted to learn you don�t have to come just for the day to Arrowtown. If you wish you can spend a few days in this charming place, there is a wide variety of accommodation to choose from. Lodges, bed-and-breakfasts, homestays, motels, cottages, even camping grounds. It might be a lot of fun, particularly if you have family with children that you are travelling with. Picnics by the Arrow River, with it�s bush-clad walkways is an internationally preferred location for filming movies. Here you can also go hang gliding, skateboarding, mountain biking, all pretty entertaining. Buckingham Street is action street. Here one can browse in shops which offer a wide range of clothing, souvenirs, arts and crafts, giftware and central Otago wines. However if you have inclinations like I do, you will pig out in the Fudge Shop. I had heard Arrowtown offers good options for dining out. I had narrowed down my choices to two. The Postmaster�s House and Saffron. The former because I liked the name, it was built a 100 years ago and was the abode of the local Postmaster used to live there. The latter because it had just been listed by Conde Nast Traveller as the top 100 tables of �the world�s most exciting restaurants�. Well the choice tilted in Saffron�s favour and I had the most satisfying meal of Pacific style cuisine in the most relaxed and easy atmosphere with golfers streaming in from the nearby Millbrook Golf Resort. On my way to Arrowtown I had stopped by at the Amisfield Cellars at Lake Hayes for a look see. It�s a beautiful stone Winery, appearing French in its look. It also has a restaurant and a wine tasting room and a wine shop, where it�s possible to taste and buy what you will. In the vicinity there is an old chapel with its own large area which has now become the in place to get married. When you visit it, you understand why. It�s the perfect location to start a new life with the one you love. It�s not as if the chapel is restricted to the locals making a wedding banquet out of the place. Many foreigners to plan their weddings here, mainly Japanese and Australians. There is a huge reception hall in the premises, along with resort style accommodation.
Te Anau on the way to Milford offers an 18-hole dry all �weather course overlooking the lake. What makes golfing in New Zealand even more attractive is the cost, which I believe is quite inexpensive by interna-tional standards. And at most courses full hire facilities are available, including motorized carts. The bigger clubs even offer pro shops and full gear hire. CLASSIC JAGUAR LIMOUSINES
SAFFRON
OLD CHAPEL
Amisfield Winery & Bistro
PHOTOGRAPHS BY FARZANA CONTRACTOR |
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It�s rather a unique concept, these vintage jaguars, all in keeping with the period of time. They don�t just offer their services to Arrowtown but also extend it to sightseeing tours to other places like Milford Sound. You could also hire these sedans if you were getting married at the old Chapel you will read about as you go down this article. Another option is to go on a wine tour of the region and visit the Wineries in Gibston Valley and Bannockburn areas. These tours start at $ 130 per person for three hours and go on to $ 285 pp for seven hours. The tour to Milford Sound takes 12 hours.
The Millbrook Resort must be a haven for golfers. It�s a sport I intend to try my hand at, sooner than later, and I have to admit my inspiration comes from the beautiful golf courses I have visited around the world, particularly the ones in Ireland, South of France, and even Dubai. New Zealand has some fantastic options for the golfing kind. The Bob Charles designed Millbrook is splendid. Golfers can stay in unabashed luxury right on the course. The Kelvin Heights course is set on a stunning peninsular reaching far into Lake Wakatipu while the locally favoured Arrowtown course offers scenery and traps for the unwary. There�s a driving range at the 9 hole practice course in Frankton and at Glenorchy, you may have to seriously chase the sheep from a course that doubles as a racetrack during a �gymkhana, that is held every January at this place. As if all these courses weren�t enough, two more courses are in development; one at Jack�s Point and the other an 18 hole course on a private estate very close to Arrowtown, that I went and saw. Perched and sprawling as it is, it promises to turn into a picturesque course. I believe it belongs to a local trillionaire!
Apart from these courses the one in Wanaka, called Wanaka Golf Course also enjoys a great location, lake and mountain views, while Golf Of Course at Lake Hawea is a nine-hole affair great for families and casual golfers.
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