IN ARROWTOWN
We drove from Manapouri on Wednesday, after our overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound, to Arrowtown, which is about half an hour from Queenstown. It wasn’t a long drive, but it rained much of the way and the last 45 minutes or so were on the now familiar narrow, winding roads around the mountains. A very narrow one lane bridge was a bit unnerving since it wasn’t really clear who had the right away. We arrived in charming Arrowtown and the Arrowtown House Boutique Hotel around 3:00 pm. When the rain let up a bit, we decided to walk into town. 
Arrowtown is a former gold mining village and sits in a valley surrounded by more beautiful mountains. The flowering trees, cherry and apple, are in full bloom and many houses have elaborate gardens of rhododendrons, tulips, and, what I would call, wild roses, but are probably just another subspecies of rose.
Many buildings date from the 19th century and are wood framed and well preserved.
The main street is not that long, but is dotted with plenty of upscale galleries and gift shops, an inviting wine store, a small museum which we plan to explore, and more restaurants and cafes than you might expect in a town this small. There was a mix of people on the street, older and young, walkers and backpackers, and Asian (Chinese and Indian, it would appear) as well as white. There is also a historic Chinese settlement here that we will also visit.
DINING
We dined our first night at La Rumbla, a delicious tapas restaurant where we had fun bantering with our French waiter about the food and what wine by the glass we should choose. For lunch the next day we tried Mantra, an Indian restaurant. 
The interior is beautiful with magenta on the chair seats and wall and pink flowers in tubs.
We opted for the lamb rogan josh thali, which meant the delicious lamb came with basmati rice, lentils, potatoes and peas, raita, spicy pickle, and both poppadums and poori. Some of the best Indian food I’ve had! 
Thursday night, on the recommendation of our hotel, we went to Postmaster’s Residence, a cozy restaurant with a wood stove in its main room. We were the first to arrive, but soon the side room was full of diners old and young. The pan-fried fish of the day (gurnard, I believe) was excellent, served with capers, perfectly cooked broccoli, cauliflower and carrot rounds, and roast potatoes.
STOPPING IN QUEENSTOWN
It is so near we figured we had to make the short drive over to Queenstown. Thursday was sunny and we stopped to take a few more photos of the lovely shades of green on the mountain before going into the center of town to a parking garage. Navigating a tight garage when you have to remember to always be left is a definite test for the driver!
We wandered around Queenstown for about an hour noting how busy and lively it was (especially compared to Arrowtown), the large number of hikers and back packers, and along the lake, the many options for jet boat rides, wind gliding, and other water sports. The skyline was gorgeous on this bright blue-sky day!
The public garden also fronts on the water and we strolled up the hill and immersed ourselves in spring in the beds of bright pink and yellow tulips. We’re glad we made a point of seeing Queenstown, but were very happy to return to our abode in Arrowtown!
Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)
