The Hillbilly Kiwi: The Cardrona

On my list of things to see while we are in New Zealand was the Cardrona Hotel. Steeped in history, the Cardrona sits in the heart of the Cardrona Valley, as it has since 1863.

Traveling from Queenstown, we opted to take the Crown Range Road. Like many of the roads here, it is not for the faint of heart. Very narrow, little to no shoulder, and steep switch-backs definitely serve to keep your eyes open to the resplendent scenery.

There are many things about New Zealand, especially in Southland, that remind me of the early days of the American West. One example of that is that NZ has had it's very own series of gold rush action. In the early 1860s, word spread that gold had been discovered in the Crown Range, and the town of Cardrona popped up to accommodate the influx of prospectors. To this day, there is still gold in them there hills, and it is not uncommon to see modern day miners trying their hand at panning.

Tell tale marks from the gold days are still easily seen. Notice the light in the floor. That is actually a passageway into an old mine shaft.

It didn't show up in the pics as the plexiglass is quite thick and milky, but there is a ladder that goes down into the darkness.

After surviving the end of the gold rush and subsequent downturn in the economy, the Cardrona sat intact even as many of the town's buildings were moved down the road to the growing Wanaka.

In the 1920s, the Cardrona was bought by Jim Patterson, who was the proprietor until his death when he was in his 90s. He would regulate how many drinks you could buy by which road you had to take home; 2 if you were going north to Wanaka, 1 if you were taking the treacherous road to Queenstown. Rumor has it that he, and an unknown lady in red, still roam the place.

I can't say I blame them. It is the epitome of what a lodge should feel like.

In fact, though no filming was done here, the Cardrona served as inspiration for The Inn of the Prancing Pony, and Peter Jackson and his crew spent considerable time here as it's square in the middle of where most of the LOTR filming was done.

The restaurant is outstanding, and is typically filled with locals on any given night. As hotel guests, we checked in to find a table had been reserved for us for our entire stay.

These days, the hotel serves primarily as a ski lodge for the Cardrona Ski Fields during the winter months...and as a wedding/event venue during the warmer months.

The newest proprietors have done a remarkable job of updating the property, while keeping the past alive.

The memorabilia gives you a glimpse of what it was like 150 years ago.

The hotel even has it's own darling little gift shop.

The archeology buff in me is trying to puzzle this one out. Based on the dimensions and the door opening, I'm pretty sure this was the base of an old cottage and not a wannabe reproduction. There is another slightly smaller cottage still intact at the back of the property. The one shown is still used for outdoor fire and seating.