What's new in Queenstown?

The following morning, we leave our room at Sherwood and make our way north past Lake Hayes to Arrowtown. Before reaching the historic gold mining settlement, we stop at Mora Wines for breakfast, enjoying excellent coffee and seasonal produce served in the shade of lush horse chestnut trees. Fur throws and lap blankets are draped over chairs, not that we needed them on this warm morning. 

Arrowtown is a treasure trove of delights. We wander the quaint main street, browsing designer clothing boutiques, home goods and giftware stores. The plaque on the Kathryn Wilson shop tells how the building was a butchery and bakery in the 1860s; it now showcases the New Zealand shoe brand. We unleash our inner children inside the Remarkable Sweet Shop, its window a bright, colourful spectacle like something out of a movie. 

While queues outside the famous Fergburger in Queenstown are likely growing as lunchtime looms, its lesser-known Arrowtown sibling, Fergbutcher, serves similar food to smaller crowds. The culinary chain took over its meat supplier when the original butchery team retired. Now part of the Ferg empire, it sells award-winning produce as well as burgers, freshly baked breads and pastries.  

We find more movie-like scenes when we arrive at Ayrburn, nestled in the folds of the Southern Alps between Arrowtown and Queenstown. The region’s newest hospitality precinct sprawls across almost 150 acres, transforming an historic working farm into a collection of cafés, restaurants and cellar doors in heritage buildings surrounded by blossoming dogwood trees and lavender bushes. 

The farm’s former dairy is now an ice cream shop; a restored shed, now known as The Manure Room, serves shared plates beneath its sloped roof. Families play pétanque on a manicured lawn. We follow the creek – or Ary, the precinct's namesake and Scottish term for ‘strong river’ – on a short walk to a waterfall, before meandering along the lavender-lined laneway to Billy's for dinner.

Here, the original Victorian-style homestead has been transformed into a unique restaurant with family hospitality at its heart. The menu showcases the rich history of the area including Arrowtown's first Chinese settlers.

The next morning, we watch from our window as other Sherwood guests make their way to yoga classes and to the sauna. We’re also tempted to partake of these services but instead we opt to stretch our legs with a walk to the summit of Queenstown Hill. 

We manage the steep incline by stopping frequently to breathe in the sweeping panorama of Queenstown’s surroundings. And there are many moments along the way that warrant a pause. A display of fairy houses and stacked rock formations are scattered through pine forest; the ‘Basket of Dreams’ sculpture inspires reflection while soaking in views of Whakatipu basin, Cecil Peak, Frankton and Queenstown Bay.

Soaking in the magnesium-enriched waters of Bathe by Aluume is the perfect option for post-walk recovery. Tucked into Brecon Street, this collection of architecturally designed hot pools offers a pause from the city’s busy rhythm and is Queenstown’s modern take on the onsen tradition. We’re each supplied with a tote bag to store our clothes and the choice of a non-alcoholic drink, sipped in the warm pools under a passing rain shower. 

Queenstown's only two-hat restaurant, located within Sherwood, draws inspiration from its natural surroundings. We savour options from a menu that reflects the changing seasons and interplay of natural elements that have long solidified Queenstown's reputation as a destination of unmatched beauty.