SHOPPING IN SOUTHERN LAKES

While the Southern Lakes region and Queenstown in particular is the adventure playground of New Zealand with more adrenaline thumping, blood pumping adventure per square metre than certainly anywhere else in New Zealand, we also play above our weight when it comes to surprisingly varied retail and especially in the high-end fashion with boutique galleries. So, if you’re looking for a change of pace in our alpine playground, how about a shopping and gallery-hopping expedition.

Queenstown is a reasonably small town of around 27,000 residents but there is an extensive offering of high-quality retail brands intermingled with extraordinarily talented artists, photographers and designers. The two years of Covid has cemented the CBD as the visitor shopping precinct while the Frankton | Five Mile precinct is more your locals offering interspersed with boutique precincts in Arrowtown and also, the new Frankton marina and Country Lane offering just out of town.

In the CBD you’ll find a suite of new retail stores which is headlined by T Galleria by DFS which opened in late October. T Galleria has an open and airy design with an informal yet elegant feel. While offering duty free shopping to international visitors it also focuses on the domestic market and plans events that showcase local artists. Located in the O’Connell’s Mall the luxury twolevel store carries more than 120 brands of fashion and accessories, beauty, wines, food, gifts, and jewellery. Also located on Beach Street is the new RM Williams store with their first Queenstown offering and compliments the nearby Rodd and Gunn. In the mall you’ll find the relocated Goldfields Jewellers. Goldfields relaunched their new store in early October and Master Jeweller,

Trond Johansson has on onsite workshop to create bespoke jewellery. Across in Shotover Street new stores are popping up including MorArt which opened just in time for the Christmas shopping trading period.

All these new stores are interwoven with some wonderful coffee spots and cafes many of them new including Drop Café in Shotover Street, the Mountain Club has a popup coffee spot on lower Beach Street, Marmolada Café and Odd Saint eatery next to St Peters Church are on Camp Street. Both Odd Saint and Marmolada have a substantial menu offering for first thing in the morning dining.

When the shopping has exhausted the wallet. Give your eyeballs a treat at StarkWhite Gallery in Earl Street and there are two photography studios that must be seen to be believed also on Earl Street. Cory Marshall is right next door to StarkWhite while Romer Gallery is a couple of doors down from Milford Gallery. Over on Park Street is The Ivy Box which has been a local favorite since it opened in 2015. It was originally the towns butcher shop. Director Lynda Hensman initially started the gallery to bring together talented artists from around the region. Hensman has curated an atmosphere where local artists can share their passion for art and zest for life.