NZ - Arrowtown

We’ve hired a wee car to explore Milford Sound before we set off proper (we start cycling Thursday). 20 mins east of Queenstown we visited Arrowtown, firmly on the tourist trail, being a picturesque gold mining town, established in 1862. Wandering around the restored streets was strange, like being on a film set or in a living museum. Beautiful autumnal colours. I was struck by the haunting tiny huts on the edge of town, hidden in an isolated gully, which made up a ghost settlement of Chinese miners. Victims of harassment and discrimination, they lived on the fringes of the European settlement, and it was frightening to think how cold they must have been in the harsh Otago winters.Read more