April 2017 – Jacek Proniewicz travel blog

Glenorchy, a true slice of New Zealand paradise, sits a spectacular 45-minute drive northwest of Queenstown at the northern end of Lake Wakatipu.Surrounded by magnificent snow-capped mountains, pristine lakes and rivers, ancient beech forests and at the edge of Mount Aspiring and Fiordland national parks, the frontier town of Glenorchy has provided the backdrop for many films, including The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. There are a range of accommodation options as well as numerous activities that will get you out into the great outdoors for which this area is famous. There are also food and beverage options, a new camp ground and general store and a friendly community.

.The nearby settlements of Kinloch and Paradise are also known for their stunning scenery and tranquil setting. The area is also the gateway to several world-famous multi-day hikes including the Routeburn Track, one of New Zealand’s Great Walks. For walks closer to town, there are well-graded walkways that lead to points of interest including the Glenorchy Walkway, Whakaari Conservation Area and Mt Judah, where the remains of scheelite mines can be found.

Explore Glenorchy’s natural beauty
There are a number of exciting ways you can explore the beauty of this pristine area. Take the sites in by horseback and ride through braided rivers, native forests and across open fields. By water you can journey into the heart of glacier country with a jetboat, canoe or kayak. Take a stunning scenic flight into unexplored wilderness or experience the thrill of a skydive over landscapes that have remained untouched for centuries. Or grab a backpack and hiking boots and use Glenorchy as a base for one of the many spectacular walking tracks including the Routeburn, Greenstone and Caples Tracks. Anglers will find salmon in the local rivers, while hunters enjoy seeking out a wide variety of game in the surrounding hills. There are also farm tours available and off road four wheel driving and photo safaris.

Skippers Road clings to the side of Skippers Canyon, which drops vertically to the Shotover River, once known as “the richest river in the world”. Rental car companies won’t allow their vehicles on this narrow, unsealed road, but there are plenty of local operators available to take you up the canyon. If you want to test your fitness, mountain biking is also an option.

The road was built during the gold rush, when a precarious pack track was the only access to Skippers township and the Upper Shotover diggings. Constructed between 1883 and 1890, the Skippers Road was considered a major engineering feat in its day. One three-kilometre stretch of the road involved hand drilling and blasting solid rock to create a platform 183 metres above the Shotover River. This daunting task required workers to hang on ropes high above the raging river. This section, aptly named Pinchers Bluff and the Devils Elbow, is a highlight of the road to Skippers.

Some people are lured up this precipitous road with adventure on their mind. There’s rafting on the Shotover River, jetboating with Skippers Canyon Jet and 4WD adventures to Skippers. Others want to discover the amazing Upper Shotover scenery – dramatic schist bluffs and rock tors stand like sculptures in the tussock landscape. The road commands views of the Richardson Mountains to the west and the Harris Mountains to the east

Built in Dunedin in 1906 when the city was New Zealand’s leading commercial centre, this magnificent railway station remains, fully restored to its former glory.An excellent tourist excursion service is the only train now using the station. Much of its ground floor is used as a restaurant, and the upper floor houses an art gallery and a sports hall of fame.

In an eclectic, revived Flemish renaissance style, (Renaissance Revival architecture), the station is constructed from dark basalt from Kokonga in the Strath-Taieri with lighter Oamaru stone facings, giving it the distinctive light and dark pattern common to many of the grander buildings of Dunedin and Christchurch. Pink granite was used for a series of supporting pillars which line a colonnade at the front of the building. The roof was tiled in terracotta shingles from Marseilles surmounted by copper-domed cupolas. The southern end of the building is dominated by the 37-metre clocktower which is visible from much of central Dunedin. The sheer size, grandiose style and rich embellishments of the station earned architect George Troup the nickname of Gingerbread George.

The booking hall features a mosaic floor of almost 750,000 Minton tiles. A frieze of Royal Doulton porcelain runs around the balcony above it from which the floor’s design (featuring a locomotive and related symbols) can be clearly seen. The station’s main platform is the country’s longest, extending one kilometre.

The building’s foundation stone was laid by the Minister of Railways Joseph Ward on June 3, 1904. The Prime Minister Richard Seddon was also present. The station was opened by Ward, by then Prime Minister, in 1906. The construction of the building was kept within budget, and cost £40,000.

Created to be the jewel in the crown of New Zealand Railways, the Dunedin Railway Station has an atmosphere and character unique to any public building in the country, and is regarded as the most photographed building in New Zealand.