HOME OF THE BEST FUDGE IN NEW ZEALAND
06 MAY 2023
One of the restored huts in the Chinese Settlement
I Waaaaant Candy
Arrowtown is a picturesque, historic gold mining town in the South Island of New Zealand and it's full of history and charm. In 1862, some old shiny stuff was discovered in the Arrow River and like a magnet, 1000 miners flocked to the area. It was originally named Fox's, after William Fox's claimed to have discovered the gold first.... but soon they realized that Arrowtown sounded way cooler. Arrowtown is on the banks of the Arrow River, so it's easy to see why they named it this instead although I just wonder if William wasn't very well liked. "I SHALL NAME THIS TOWN AFTER MOI".. "NO YOU SHALL NOT, SIT DOWN WILLIAM"... *cries into soup*.
In 1888, the town had a bit of an identity crisis as the post office was calling it Arrow River and the telegraph office was calling it Arrowtown as it hadn't been finalised with the post office at this point - talk about mixed messages! Was this another "SIT DOWN, TELEGRAPH OFFICE" saga?
In Autumn, the town turns into a firey paradise due to the incredibly beautiful red, orange and yellow autumn trees in the area. We have been lucky enough to experience two Autumns there HOWEVER we've never been when it's really been going off, we've always been slightly too early.
Aside from the insanely photo worthy Autumn leaves, Arrowtown is known for the Remarkable Sweet Shop which has THE BEST FUDGE IN NEW ZEALAND! Well, we think so anyway and I 100% take on a challenge if anyone would like to prove me wrong otherwise ;)
The shop is floor to ceiling with lollies, chocolate and fudge. For kiwis, it's a unique shopping experience as there are a lot of imported lollies that we don't get here. Just to be clear, by kiwis I mean New Zealanders - could you imagine a kiwi bird hopping around with a shopping basket?
The girls take foreeeeeever to choose what they want to buy when we visit. As it's such a unique store, we let them get 1 or 2 things each to try out. Sometimes they want to buy things they can already buy in the shops here and we're like come on dudes, ya gotta try something new! Often we have to set a time limit or we will be stuck in the shop till closing by the time they decide!
There are lots of delicious flavours of fudge and it is all pretty much the same size, but they do weigh it and charge you per 100gm so be aware of this. Our favourite flavour is the creme brulee fudge... hands down... and we also love the jelly tip, mint choc and m&ms fudge. It's just so gooood and you honestly don't even need much at all. It would be hard to eat a whole piece of fudge in one sitting...and that's coming from me! Probably the highlight of the fudge is it doesn't burn your through and feel super sugary when you eat it, like most fudge does. You are able to taste test the fudges which is helpful with making the right decision, so just ask the staff!
In 1888, the town had a bit of an identity crisis as the post office was calling it Arrow River and the telegraph office was calling it Arrowtown as it hadn't been finalised with the post office at this point - talk about mixed messages! Was this another "SIT DOWN, TELEGRAPH OFFICE" saga?
In Autumn, the town turns into a firey paradise due to the incredibly beautiful red, orange and yellow autumn trees in the area. We have been lucky enough to experience two Autumns there HOWEVER we've never been when it's really been going off, we've always been slightly too early.
Aside from the insanely photo worthy Autumn leaves, Arrowtown is known for the Remarkable Sweet Shop which has THE BEST FUDGE IN NEW ZEALAND! Well, we think so anyway and I 100% take on a challenge if anyone would like to prove me wrong otherwise ;)
The shop is floor to ceiling with lollies, chocolate and fudge. For kiwis, it's a unique shopping experience as there are a lot of imported lollies that we don't get here. Just to be clear, by kiwis I mean New Zealanders - could you imagine a kiwi bird hopping around with a shopping basket?
The girls take foreeeeeever to choose what they want to buy when we visit. As it's such a unique store, we let them get 1 or 2 things each to try out. Sometimes they want to buy things they can already buy in the shops here and we're like come on dudes, ya gotta try something new! Often we have to set a time limit or we will be stuck in the shop till closing by the time they decide!
There are lots of delicious flavours of fudge and it is all pretty much the same size, but they do weigh it and charge you per 100gm so be aware of this. Our favourite flavour is the creme brulee fudge... hands down... and we also love the jelly tip, mint choc and m&ms fudge. It's just so gooood and you honestly don't even need much at all. It would be hard to eat a whole piece of fudge in one sitting...and that's coming from me! Probably the highlight of the fudge is it doesn't burn your through and feel super sugary when you eat it, like most fudge does. You are able to taste test the fudges which is helpful with making the right decision, so just ask the staff!
Historic Chinese Settlement
In the 1870s, a handful of Chinese settlers arrived in Arrowtown to get their slice of the gold pie and they set up huts and shelters along the bank of Bush Creek.
By 1885, the community had 10 huts, a social hall and a couple of stores. Back then, the men lived in communal huts and it's unlikely any women lived there as even in 1896 there were only 11 Chinese women in the whole of New Zealand.
Today, the Arrowtown Chinese Settlement has been partially restored after an archaeological excavation after they were discovered in the 1980s when a carpark was being constructed nearby. The hut sites have been stabilized and 5 have been reconstructed to show what they would have originally looked like. The location of Su Sing's store is marked with four corner posts as they couldn't find the actual store (too bad, I was hoping for a discount).
You are able to go inside the huts and see how small they really were to live in, but there is nothing inside to see except the structure of how they were originally made and now reconstructed. What the girls enjoyed the most was running between the huts and peeking inside and amongst the trees to be honest! It's hard for kids to understand the true meaning of history and what went down, but at least they enjoyed finding sticks and leaves!
There are information panels outside each shelter so you can read the history and stories about the Chinese miners who lived there.
By 1885, the community had 10 huts, a social hall and a couple of stores. Back then, the men lived in communal huts and it's unlikely any women lived there as even in 1896 there were only 11 Chinese women in the whole of New Zealand.
Today, the Arrowtown Chinese Settlement has been partially restored after an archaeological excavation after they were discovered in the 1980s when a carpark was being constructed nearby. The hut sites have been stabilized and 5 have been reconstructed to show what they would have originally looked like. The location of Su Sing's store is marked with four corner posts as they couldn't find the actual store (too bad, I was hoping for a discount).
You are able to go inside the huts and see how small they really were to live in, but there is nothing inside to see except the structure of how they were originally made and now reconstructed. What the girls enjoyed the most was running between the huts and peeking inside and amongst the trees to be honest! It's hard for kids to understand the true meaning of history and what went down, but at least they enjoyed finding sticks and leaves!
There are information panels outside each shelter so you can read the history and stories about the Chinese miners who lived there.
Know Before You Go
- There is no entry cost to see the historic Chinese Settlement
- Arrowtown is small and you can get around it easily on foot
- The best time to visit Arrowtown is during April & May to see the changing of the leaves
- You can buy the fudge and lollies online here. They ship to most countries. There is a Remarkable Sweet Shop in Queenstown city centre too
Mappy McMap Face
How To Get To Arrowtown
Arrowtown is in the South Island of New Zealand and is a 20-minute drive from Queenstown and 50-minutes south of Wanaka. Turn into McDonnell Road from State Highway 6 (the main highway between Queenstown and Wanaka) and it will take you to Arrowtown. It is all well sign posted.
Conclusion
Arrowtown is a charming little town full of boutique shops, the famous Remarkable Sweet Shop and of course the historic Chinese Settlement. If you're lucky to visit during April & May, you're in for a treat with the changing of the leaves.
It's only 20-minutes from Queenstown so you could easily spend a day exploring the town by foot and soaking in the history.
It's only 20-minutes from Queenstown so you could easily spend a day exploring the town by foot and soaking in the history.
Gallery of Arrowtown
Check out the rest of the awesomeness that didn't make it to the main blog but deserves to be shown.
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