Queenstown neighbors Arrowtown and Lake Hayes add gold-mining heritage and nature exploration into the mix.
The extraordinary setting and an international outlook have made this little corner of New Zealand’s South Island a trans-seasonal center for cool-climate pinot noir, adventurous gastronomy and quirky design, galleries and hotels.
Here’s a small sample of what the area has to offer.
Aggy’s Fish and Chip Shack (Queenstown)
Right on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, this tiny, much-loved kiosk serves beer-battered, deep-fried fresh scallops and oysters, fish and chips and idiosyncratic Kiwi fare such as whitebait (tiny, whole freshwater small fry), smoked eel and muttonbird.
Muttonbird?
No, New Zealand doesn’t have sheep on wings.
An acquired taste, this former staple of Maori and colonial sailors is the fledgling of local seabirds, with a dark, oily meat that some say tastes more like mutton than fish.
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Nadene Milne Gallery, 16 Buckingham St., Arrowtown; +64 3 442 0467; open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Amisfield Winery (Lake Hayes)
Queenstown residents call ahead to reserve the pork belly at this bistro attached to a winery in a striking, modern schist-clad building overlooking Lake Hayes and designed by acclaimed New Zealand architects Warren & Mahoney.
The winemakers have won awards for their pinot noir, the temperamental varietal for which the central Otago terroir has proved ideal.
The menu at the bistro, which won “Cuisine” magazine’s best winery restaurant for the third time last year, is designed to complement the winery’s produce
Amisfield Winery, 10 Lake Hayes Road, Queenstown; +64 3 442 0556; reservations recommended
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Sam Eichblatt is a New Zealand-based freelance writer.
