Arrowtown

Established in 1862 at the height of the Otago gold rush, the settlement of Arrowtown is a great place to tour for a few hours. There are lots of shops, cafés and restaurants (head to Chop Shop for lunch), as well as a small Chinese Settlement with historic, preserved buildings. The latter is located on the banks of the Bush Creek river, a tributary of the wild Arrow River, and there are several beautiful hikes that originate or culminate in Arrowtown. You can also rent bikes here to explore this scenic area, where a lot of locals live since Queenstown itself has become expensive and overrun.