Arrowtown

Just out of Queenstown is Arrowtown. I have seen Arrowtown in the Autumn and Spring now and it is just stunning in both! I have simply never seen a prettier town – it’s a photographers dream!

When we got there it was raining and I was almost put off taking out my camera but I’m glad I didn’t – getting some great family photos with no nasty shadows from the mid day sun.

Photographers tip #1 – if you are photographing in the middle of the day try to shoot in shade – this may come from cloud cover or thick trees. The trees below wouldn’t be thing enough if we had the sun above and would have created shadows on the our subjects faces

Photographers tip #2 – look for nature to frame your photos. Here I have used the trees as a natural frame and have put trees both in front and behind of James and the girls to give our photos some depth

Family Photo time – beautifully framed by the trees

We wandered through the Chinese settlement – something I had overlooked the first time but was well worth walking through – from a historic interest and a photography perspective.

We headed to the Fork and Tap for lunch – a great casual dining restaurant with a great play space for the kids and a brilliant menu. It’s not often we manage to go out for under $100 for lunch (with wine and beer) but we managed it here – superb.

You can check out their menu here…

http://www.theforkandtap.co.nz

After lunch we ambled along the street with the kids besotted by the candy shop on the main road. The sweets were very expensive which suited us just fine as their $5 pocket money didn’t get them anywhere near as sugared up as $5 at a dairy would and they had so much fun spending it.

Once the kids were satisfied with their candy it was time for Mum to head over the road for a spot of wine tasting. Great wines but afterwards we headed back to Betty’s for more Man O War (I’ve talked about it so much I think I really need a link at this point)

http://www.manowarvineyards.co.nz

The kids, fresh from their Gold Panning success in Greymouth were dead keen to try their luck panning in the Arrowtown river and we hired pans from the information centre for the princely sum of $3 each. They didn’t get any gold (although they all swear they had it in there – it just washed away) but they stuck at it for an hour and had a great time. The big tip here – don’t forget the insect repellent – they are vicious!!

Gold panning in Arrowtown

We happily spent the whole day in Arrowtown and it was one of the cheapest days that we had. It’s a beautiful town – with history and nature combined in a unique and memorable way – pack the extra memory card for the camera – you are going to need it!!

James says…

A really nice little get away to nature and chill by the river but yet sophisticated enough to get top notch nosh.

How we rated it…

Sophia (6 years old) rates it 9/10

Krystal (8 years old) rates it 10/10

Bella (9 years old) rates it 10/10

James rates it 7/10

Cat rates it 10/10