Mike Yardley: Crisp adventures around autumnal Arrowtown

"Tucked beneath the rugged Crown Range and richly wreathed in the charm of its gold-rush legacy, my abiding love-affair with Arrowtown is fully renewed with every visit. Long famed for its ravishing fall foliage, autumn’s full flush is still on radiant display. The annual Arrowtown Autumn Festival celebrated its 40th anniversary a fortnight ago – no mean feat when so many events and cherished festivals around the country have struggled to continue. I happened to be in town for the tail end of the festivities.

"This year’s cooler temps have been a boon for leaf-peepers, because the cooler, crisp nights help trees retain their colourful leaves longer, while also producing even more vibrant hues. So even though it’s now May, you can still feast on the flamboyantly coloured foliage if you hot foot it to Arrowtown in the next few weeks. The flaming colour palette moves like morning mist through the trees in the Arrow Valley: from mossy green and petal rose, to flaming copper and soft honey gold, all part of the unfolding medley."

Read Mike's full article here.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from news Talks at be My Yard.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
These are travel correspondent Mike.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Good morning Jack. How many Buckingham Street cottages have you
got in your real estate portfolio?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Buckingham Street cottages an Arrowtown just started on two hands.
I'm moving to toes now as well. I mean, it
is right, I'm not mistaken. It's the most expensive real
estate in the country.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think Trade Mes Property report they
reckon that their average house price in Arrowtown is now
three million. And I mean those little one bedroom cottages,
those old minor cottages. I was just looking at some
of the recent saloton Yeah, they sell for over two
million dollars now a one bedroom minus cottage.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
It's not I mean, it's amazing. You know. It is
obviously a beautiful, beautiful queen town, especially at this time
of year, but that is an awful lot of money.
Oh yeah, it is. Given the leaves are starting to
turn in most of the country at the moment. Is
this the time of year? Is the autumn foliage in

(01:17):
full flush?

Speaker 3 (01:19):
Yes, happy foll y'all, And it is such a seasonal
treat in our orotown they have that autumn festival which
actually celebrated it's fortieth anniversary of fortnit Ago. But the
interesting thing is, if you are intending hitting down to
that part of the country, you're in luck because this
year's cooler temperatures have actually delayed the full flush of autumn,

(01:46):
so leaf peepers have got pretty much all of May
to check out those vibrant displays around our rowtown. And
it really is quite flambuoyant the color of that foliage
in our Rowtown.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
I mean, it's honestly like kind of Vermont or something
like that. Don't you think when the leaves turn it early?
Is just that those colors are extraordinary. So where's best
to go hiking to try and soak up those colors?

Speaker 3 (02:13):
Yeah, well, I would say just by the Chinese settlement
strike out on the Arrow Gorge trail. And the good
thing about that is it gently hoists you up above
the town and that gorge jack is just popping with color.
It's got so many poplars and willows, so many exotics
in that gorge and they just blaze honey, gold and

(02:36):
copper and rust red all along the valley walls. And
the cool thing is that's sort of offset by the
dark shist cliffs, then the olive greens of the native shrubs,
so you just get this fiesta, especially in the soft
morning or late afternoon light. By the way, the Arrow

(02:57):
River trailer, a lot of people I'm sure have trudged
along there. That's that very low slung track that's good
for autumn glory to You just feel like you're walking
through this gigantic glade. And of course, like Cays, the
legendary Lombardy poplars strutting that shoreline, they look like rockets
on the launch pad. That is guaranteed insta gold too.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
Oh so good. The dining scene in ourtown's always been
switched up. So tell us about Swift Shore.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
I was really intrigued by this. So Man of War,
a wonderful white Hecke Island winery. They have spread their
wings to our Rowtown opening Swift Shore, which is this
four level venue complete with outdoor fireplaces and gin pits,
so it sort of rises up above Buckingham Street. You

(03:48):
get the most awesome perch views across our Rowtown from there,
and Man of War's connections with the region that's quite interesting.
They've got an exclusive producing pen and noir vineyard in Bannockburn.
But this venue they've got that swift Shaw Jacket is
such a great place for drinks and and if you're
looking for really good winter comfort food they deliver. I

(04:11):
cannot recommend their potato yochi with pecorino cheese high enough.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
Okay, So beyond town, what new cycling trail is waiting
in the wings?

Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yeah, well, east of town, the Gibston Trail is very
popular because it sort of doubles as a very trusty
way to hop scotch between world beating tastings of Peno
noir on that bike track. But come spring, one of
the most ambitious, daring cycle trails New Zealand has ever
seen is going to open. So this will connect Gibston

(04:46):
to the legendary Lake Dunstan Trail. This is the Cowardo
Gorge Trail and I mean, honestly, this is next level stuff.
Check to our trail network. You can see the trail
when you drive in, like say from Cromwell heading towards Queenstown,
you can see that trail carving it its way across

(05:08):
the craggy slopes on the south bank of the Carbona Gorge.
It is actually quite remote, seriously backcountry stuff, so I
have no doubt this is going to rock the socks
off the trail riding world in a few months time.

Speaker 2 (05:23):
So good tell us about Arthur's Point and it's got
a whole swag of attractions now, eh.

Speaker 3 (05:28):
Yes, indeed, so from Arrowtown if you are heading like
past Coronet Peaked towards the Shotover River in Queenstown, Arthur's
Point has become quite an interesting little nook to check
out and on the Fudda Hua Nui Trail, which is
the cycle trail that runs down there. The locals actually

(05:49):
nicknamed that the Ale Trail, and it's because Arthur's Point
has got this hub of really good stops if you're
feeling thirsty. King and Brewing is based at Arthur's Point.
The Craft Collective brew Hall is there. That's home to
wild Rivers, gin as well and best of all, game

(06:12):
please taven. It's actually one of the region's oldest watering holes,
so it's got this gorgeous old stone building which dates
back to the eighteen sixties. So back in the day
in the gold rush Jack that's where miners would go
to quench their first and that is still kicking on today.
So yeah, lots of cool nuggets to check out in

(06:33):
Arthur's Point.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
So where's a good place to stay?

Speaker 3 (06:36):
Well, I actually stayed in Arthur's Point at Coronet Ridge Resort,
and this has only been reopened a few months. People
will recall the old Nugget Point Hotel, so that property
has been given a massive makeover, and it's really emmed
up the alpine wilderness at Moss to the place, so
it's perched above all of those twists and turns of

(06:58):
the Shotover River. You've got sugar Loaf Peak dominating the
view right in front of you. I reckon Americans who
go here, they must feel like they've been transported to
the Rockies, and it's just so in your face, the
calm escape, even though you've got our owtown in Queenstown
just a few minutes away.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
Speaking of the mountains in Cornet Peak, are they opening early?

Speaker 1 (07:21):
Is here?

Speaker 3 (07:22):
Oh my goodness, they are buzzing about this Jack. Yes.
So typically, as you would know, the Otago skifields generally
open quite a lot later than the likes of Mount Hut.
But this is all about to change. Coronet Peak is
going to open on May the twenty ninth, which is
a record of early opening. The reason for this is

(07:44):
that I've got this new snow factory which is quite
different to your typical snow guns to make snow. So
with this snow factory, they've got a closed circuit system.
They don't need the temperatures to be freezing outside to
make snow, so this system will freeze the water to
make snow without any chemical additives required. So yeah, a

(08:07):
barm per season. May twenty nine opening day at Corny.

Speaker 2 (08:11):
So exciting and good. Okay, thank you very much, Mike.
So for all of Mike's tips on adventuring around Erotown
has articles up on the news Talks HEB website. You
know where to go newstalksib dot co dot nz forward
slash Jack.

Speaker 1 (08:24):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tam. Listen live
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