3 TRAVEL
INTERESTING ANYTIME DESTINATIONS
Words. John Bishop
CENTRAL
Otago is a destination for all seasons. Queenstown was lively over the summer months but nothing like its heady days when the place was packed with international visitors and Kiwis felt alienated by the crowds and the high prices. Last summer there weren’t the crowds but the prices weren’t much lower than usual – at least not in my reckoning. Nowhere did I see a No
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issue 32 • spring 2021
Vacancy sign, so occupancy was less than one hundred percent in January and February. We used Queenstown as our base for exploring the rest of Central Otago, and we visited Arrowtown, Wanaka, Hawea, Tarras and Lakes Hayes, the Gibbston Valley, Cromwell and Bannockburn before heading up through the Lindis Pass into Canterbury. Central Otago is hot, relaxing, historically interesting, wonderfully
scenic and full of activities. A visit to the Gibbston Valley Winery is a regular call for us when in the area and an afternoon wiled away sipping wine, eating cheese, and reading our kindles is an afternoon well spent. A day trip to and around Arrowtown was highlighted by a stop at the Tarras village where I sampled their cheese roll, a southern delicacy much enjoyed in these parts. I tried many on our journey around southern parts and I can confidently proclaim that the one from the Tarras Village Café takes my award for top scoff. Rakiura/Stewart Island is something different and special. It’s long had a mystique in the minds of New Zealanders who are now visiting the island in increasing numbers. Famed for oysters, crayfish, blue cod and rough weather, you have to be tough and even bloodyminded to want to live there.
