Arrowtown

Today, we drove from the western side of the Otago region to the eastern side, to Dunedin. Our first stop was at Arrowtown outside of Queenstown. Arrowtown was established in 1862 during the Otago Gold Rush.

Arrowtown

What is quite amazing in Arrowtown is that its buildings closely resemble those in the Old West towns in the United States. But knowing that many of the California Gold Rush miners, builders, hoteliers, etc., made their way to New Zealand after the surface gold ran out in California, it is not so surprising that they would have brought something of the Old West to their new location. We saw other Old West towns in the Otago area as well.

Arrowtown Chinese Settlement

There were a number of Chinese camps established from the late 1860s to the 1880s during the Otago Gold Rush. One of them was at Arrowtown. The photo is of Ah Lum’s store, which was the heart of the Chinese community here.

Kawarau Bungy Jump

Our next stop was at the Kawarau Bungy Jump off the Kawarau Bridge, the world’s first commercial bungy jump. This one has a 141–foot (43–m) drop. There are two other, higher, bungy jumps in Queenstown, one with a 1313–foot (400–m) drop.

Gibbston Valley Winery

Our next stop was at the Gibbston Valley Winery. We had tour of the vineyard, the winery, and the wine cave plus a very good buffet lunch. The Gibbston Valley is a a large wine–growing area and is known as the “Valley of the Vines.”

Gibbston Valley Winery

In the Wine Cave, we sampled three of their wines: a riesling, a merlot, and a pinot gris. Pinot gris wine is produced here, in Washington State, and in California. In Italy, it is known as pinot grigio. I usually do not like white wine but I liked the pinot gris very much. I bought six bottles of it as gifts and for a special occasion. Its cost about what good wine at a Southern California winery would. Full price for shipping all six bottles back to the U.S. was $10.00 and the wine arrived about five days after I arrived home.

Route Scenery

The scenery along our route kept changing but one thing that was constant was seeing many lakes and rivers.

Lawrence

We made a short stop in Lawrence, another town with Old West buildings. The town also had free wifi.

Sheep Farms

We also passed a number of sheep farms.

Dunedin

Our last stop was in Dunedin, where we would stay two nights. Dunedin was founded in 1848 by the Free Church of Scotland. It became well off from Gold Rush profits and built many beautiful buildings. This one is the Dunedin Railway Station.

I have put my photos of our trip from Queenstown to Dunedin on two slideshows. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/queenstown–to–dunedin–1/

http://www.peggysphotos.com/queenstown–to–dunedin–2/

(Slide Shows, Australia/New Zealand, New Zealand, “Queenstown to Dunedin–1 and –2”).