The Beach and the Water
by Kakapo2
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You cannot exactly call this stretch of beach along the township’s lakeshore a beach. There is enough space for some towels and sunbathers, and the ground is just gravel.
Adding to that, the water of Lake Wakatipu is rather cold – which is no surprise as it is fed by glacier water. In summer the water is only two degrees warmer than in winter.
But what do you want? In the hot and dry Otago summers everybody should be happy about refreshments, whatever kind they are ;-)
Skiing
by Parsley27
If you're planning to spend the ski season in and around Queenstown it's a good idea to buy your ski pass early, as they are much cheaper this way. There are three ski companies around Queenstown:
http://www.nzski.com (Coronet Peak and Remarkables)
http://www.cardrona.co.nz/
http://www.treblecone.co.nz/
PAN FOR GOLD AT ARROW RIVER
by AusPinay
Arrow River, in central Otago, South Island, NEw Zealand once was rich in gold as discovered by William Fox in teh 1860's (source-WIKIPEDIA).
Panning for gold is still promoted here by the Arrowtown Council. You can go to the Arrowtown Centre and hire equipment for panning gold. The kids and hubby of course had a blast looking for that elusive shiny stuff!
Arrowtown itself is quite enchanting. It is in a tranquil setting very much the opposite of Queenstown proper itself which is always heavily populated and crowded with tourists! We had the river almost to ourselves except for a couple of people going for walks along the riverbank. It was another calming exercise to soothe our nerves after the scary drive near the cliffs on the ascent to Coronet Peak.
We were glad to book accommodation away from the hustle and bustle of central Queesntown.
The Ford of Bruinen without Broom and Frodo
by Kakapo2
As I told you in my tip about the LoR tour with Nomad Safaris, the biggest fun about visiting the Ford of Bruinen location was the wild drive through the Arrow River with the 4WD truck and our crazy guide. But you can also visit the LoR place without 4WD, and on your own.
In Arrowtown, drive to the historic Chinese settlement on the outskirts of the small township, and park your car there. (Also possible by the public bus from Queenstown and a short walk.)
From there walk down to the adjacent riverbank, and keep to the right. The film location is about 200 or 300 metres upstream, and almost certainly you will have to wade in the riverbed. In normal weather conditions this is no problem at all. The river is not rough, and the water no higher than ankle-deep.
Standing on the right-hand side of the river, you can see and imagine the film scene, with the Nazgûl pacing down on their horses on the left side. They were chasing Arwen who ferried Frodo across the river on her steed (and BTW, all her riding scenes were stunts as Liv Tyler does not like horses). All flowering plants – in November/December lupins and broom – were edited out of the film.
The following scene of the flooding river was filmed in the Shotover River at Skippers Canyon. They had to combine the rivers as in the Skippers Canyon the river is too deep for horses to ride through.
On the way to the Ford of Bruinen you can walk through the Gladden Fields of the film. They are called Wilcox Green in real life. You get there on a path through a stand of trees beside the river.
Photo 2 shows the Ford of Bruinen as you see it in the film, taken from about the same spot as by the cameraman.
The Cow
by kiwigal_1 about The Cow
I thought "The Cow" was a fantastic little place. It has a really warm atmosphere and the food is divine!
There is a cute little bar and stools by the fire where you can wait for a table, as is often the case in this popular place. Pizza all the way! They have other dishes but the pizza looked so good we ordered two! They were definately worth the wait.
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Lake Wakatipu
Chocolate chip icecream
Puzzling World
Gold panners
