The day out next door · Queenstown, Otago & Fiordland
Arrowtown, the day out twenty minutes from town
Of everything the guides recommend around Queenstown, this is the closest with a town of its own: shops, cafés, a museum, and one piece already told in Chinese. It works the same in rain or sun.
Twenty minutes away, and you choose how
By car it is the easy way: about 20 minutes from the centre, and you leave when you like. Plenty of people make the ride the plan: the Queenstown Trail reaches Arrowtown by bike, mostly away from the road. And the bus goes too, if you do not have a car: Orbus routes 2 and 4, NZ$2.50 with a Bee Card, NZ$4 cash, and transfers are free if you board the second bus within 45 minutes.
The Chinese settlement, free and in your language
The 1880s Chinese miners' huts by the river are looked after by the Department of Conservation and cost nothing to visit. The panels are in English and Chinese, and it is the only stop on the classic Queenstown circuit already told in Mandarin. An honest warning: they are small, bare huts, not a museum, and anyone expecting otherwise leaves disappointed.
If it rains, the town still works
The Lakes District Museum is at 49 Buckingham Street, open every day from 9am to 5pm, NZ$14 for an adult. That is why Arrowtown works on both kinds of day: sun means the river and the street, rain means the museum, the library and the cafés.
And the truth about when to come
Its great season is autumn, when the poplars turn gold, around April and May. In spring you are seeing it outside its best moment and no general guide says so. The town market does not exist yet either: it starts in late October. The historic street is short and floods when the coaches arrive, so early is better.