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Published: April 3rd 2009
An Enduring History of High Country Hospitality On our way to Queenstown we stopped in a great place nestled in the rolling hills of the Cardrona Valley, The Cardrona Hotel (Est. 1863) is one of New Zealand's oldest hotels. A comfortable 40 minute drive from Queenstown and only 20 minutes from Wanaka, this unique hotel offers both quality accommodation and traditional hospitality. With breathtaking scenery, this tranquil rural setting boasts a hotel steeped in history from the gold rush era. While dry tussock gently ripples in the breeze, relax in an air of timeless comfort and understated style while recapturing yesteryear.
A Brief History of the Cardrona Hotel The township of Cardrona began in 1865, when hundreds of settlers came to the Cardrona Valley, eager to stake their claim. As word got around, the settlement quickly developed and a commercial centre was soon formed. Within three years there were four hotels, three European stores, four Chinese stores, four butcheries, one blacksmith and a baker. As the years passed, Cardrona expanded and by 1871 the population was such that it had become the centre of the butchery trade in Central Otago. Cardrona remained an important
Love this sign
In New Zealand they have great signs everywherecommercial centre through the 1870s and 1880s, although it fluctuated with the changing fortunes of the mining industry. The Cardrona Hotel, Annexe and adjoining General Store are now the only remaining buildings from the early gold rush days.
The Hotel has had several owners but by far the longest serving and most memorable for people today would be James Paterson, who came to Cardrona from Oamaru about 1890 and worked a gold claim for 40 years. In 1926 he took over the Hotel. Many people today remember Jim Paterson standing behind his bar (which still remains), wearing his spectacles and braces, serving warm beer from a bottle that had a cork in it. He was also remembered for the fact that he didn’t serve women and that he would ration his customers. Patrons who were about to drive the Crown Range Road were only allowed one glass, but those who were heading for Wanaka were allowed two.
The traveller of today, pausing in the valley before venturing over the scenic Crown Range Road, would have difficulty in visualising the thriving township that once flourished there. We stopped for one drink before the last part of our journey to
Parked outside
The interior was in great shape too Queenstown.
Ok l know it's mad, but l am in New Zealand the Home of the Bungy Jump Want an outdoor adventure, beautiful scenery and extreme highs? Then the Nevis Highwire Bungy, 134m above the rugged Nevis River, combines all these elements into a mind blowing series of unforgettable events. With 8.5 seconds of falling it’s a breathtaking ground rush like no other. Come stand on the edge and face your fear in what is for many one of the greatest personal challenges of their life. Make no mistake; the Nevis Highwire Bungy is not for the nervous.
Even just getting here is fun. The Nevis Highwire Bungy experience kicks off with a rugged 35 minute back-blocks 4x4 drive with myself, Rose & Jess all thinking "What the Hell are we doing" before your harnessed up, aboard a shuttle and crossing the canyon to the Bungy Pod. After arriving at the Bungy Pod you'll have time to come to grips with what you're about to do. Or not. Either way the emotional rollercoaster is part of what makes Bungy a truly unique personal challenge. The Jump Crew are more than happy to reassure you about
our 100%!s(MISSING)afety record and answer any questions but what they're really here to help you do is take that leap off the edge. You choose to come, to face your fear and challenge yourself because you know you can do this. The choice is yours. Try it! Believe it! And bask in the glory of your achievement.
Being the heaviest in the group meant, going first For the first time l was glad that l was the heaviest in the group of about 12 jumpers as this meant the waiting was over and within minutes of reaching the Bungy station l was being made ready for my jump. Chatting to the guy who l was now gonna trust my life with, asked me where l was from and within minutes he was telling me that his sister lives in Purley and he knew the Tesco store l worked in as he was there about 6 months ago.
So what does it feel like to throw YOURSELF off a ledge down 134m? Bloody great and the weirdest feeling ever, as you will all know that we were not created to fly so
falling towards a river below you, then all of a sudden you are flying back in the air is a bit of a sensation to say the least.
History of Bungy jumping Inspired by the Vanuatu ritual and the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club experimental jumps in the 1970s, Hackett developed a super-stretchy elastic bungee cord in the mid 1980s and demonstrated its use by throwing himself off the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1987.
Becoming the Father of Bungy Jumping, he launched his own company, AJ Hackett Bungy, and created a site on the Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown, New Zealand in 1988 to become the world's first commercial public bungy. He later expanded his company by founding bungy sites in Australia, France (Souleuvre Viaduct in Normandy), Germany, The United States, Mexico, Indonesia, and Macau. Hackett initially partnered with Henry van Asch, but the two split in 1997 with van Asch taking over the New Zealand-based business.
Hackett is widely known for his many bungy stunts that have earned him Guinness records and personal milestones, just a few including:
1988: Jumping off the Auckland Stock Exchange Tower, claiming the title as being
the world's first Bungy off a building
1990: Jumping 380 meters out of a helicopter for the first time
2000: Jumping off the Royal Gorge Bridge, also known as the highest suspension bridge in the world
2006: Opening and jumping out of the Macau Tower in China measuring 233 meters above ground and holding the title as the highest sky jump and highest commercial Bungy
2007: Doubling the previous record of 700 meters out of a helicopter with 1,499.6 meters in Malaysia with his new Bungy technology allowing Bungy stretches of over 1 kilometre
Fergburger, the best burgers ever!!!! And they tell you to go there even in Australia Located in Queenstown, New Zealand, ‘Fergburger’ is a hamburger restaurant that started up as a ‘hole in the wall’ operation in 2001 that has caught the attention of burger lovers everywhere! Queenstown is New Zealand’s premier winter destination for thrill seekers, skiers and snowboarders located in the countries South Island. According to their website, Fergburger ‘create gourmet hamburgers for burger connoisseurs as well as provide a great selection of beers and premium roasted coffee’.
The overall look of the place is a little ‘alternative’ in
appearance. The staff were young, friendly and capable (as were the clientele) and the overall feeling with the décor and music played was one that could be described as ‘hip’ or ‘cool’ and provides an appealing alternative to globalized corporate fast food outlets.
The Fergburger According to their menu consists of ‘Prime New Zealand beef, lettuce, tomato, red onion, aioli & tomato relish’. Their burgers are hefty ¼lb in weight and were ‘char-grilled’ to order on a hot plate. Whilst there is no qualifier for the term ‘Prime New Zealand beef’, the beef was amazing. Something to write home about hence why telling you about it in this blog and far better than the average fast food meat patties. As a burger with salad, condiments and bread, the product is of considerably higher quality than the average burger from an average fast food restaurant. The condiments were generally sweet giving the taste of the meal a sweet and somewhat mouth-watering feel that lingered awhile. Similarly, I found that the use of raw red onions whilst awesome from a flavour perspective. Finally the bread was both soft and ‘doughy’ and gave you that "I want more" feeling
after every bite.
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Laura Gregory
non-member comment
hmmm
OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! That looks like the scariest thing ever!!!! How on earth did you pluck up the courage to go!!!????? I am very impressed!!! Looks like you're having a wonderful time! keep on enjoying yourself! x x x