Things to do in Central Otago
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Clutha River Cruise
To experience the scenery and history of the region by boat, join a 2½-hour Clutha River Cruise. Book at the Alexandra i-SITE.
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Post Office Café & Bar
Clyde’s stately old 1899 post office houses a popular restaurant famous for its garden tables and gourmet versions of substantial favourites such as barbecue steak sandwiches or hotpot. The neighbouring old postmaster’s house has lovely rooms (doubles from $95) with antique furnishings such as travelling trunks and bureaus.
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Brewhouse Bar & Bistro
Cromwell’s best spot for a quiet beer also offers robust pub meals big enough to sate the appetite of a 19th-century goldminer. Late 20th-century pop videos and big screen 21st-century sport provide other distractions. A wider than normal range of Speight’s finest complements wines from just up the road.
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Shaky Bridge Café
Over a 110-year-old footbridge near the rail trail, Shaky Bridge is a winery-cafe in a heritage mudbrick building with views of the Manuherikia River. Tuck into locally sourced delicacies such as venison, duck or salmon. Coffee and cake with a side order of vineyard views are perfect anytime.
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Thai Crom
This Thai eatery is very authentic, with the owner’s mother-in-law drifting in and out. Spice levels are carefully adhered to, there’s cold Singha beer to cool the palate, and the $10 lunch specials are a tasty way to manage your daily budget.
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Bank Café
Owned by a group of passionate local foodies, everything is made fresh every day at the Bank Café. That includes superlative cakes and slices, and made-to-order ciabatta sandwiches ($8) that are perfect for lunch on the rail trail.
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Red Brick Café
This funky cafe–wine bar is positioned beside an Alexandra shoppers’ car park, the last place you’d expect to find a cafe so stylish or scallops so perfectly seared. Most ingredients (and wines) are locally sourced.
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Monteith’s Brewery Bar
Opposite the i-SITE, this craft beer emporium in a stone cottage has a sunny deck, and a wide-ranging menu from cheap-and-cheerful bar snacks to more robust dinners including blue cod, lamb and pork.
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Grain & Seed Café
Set in a beautiful stone building that was once Jolly’s Grain Store, this cute cafe serves up big, delicious, inexpensive meals. Grab an outside tablebeside the lake.
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Juice Café
Sitting beside the state highway at the entry to town, this sunny little cafe dishes up delicious salads and world-famous-in-Cromwell fresh fruit smoothies ($6).
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Central Gourmet Galleria
Visit Central Gourmet Galleria for a stellar collection of award-winning local wines, many of which you won’t find anywhere else.
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Alexandra Museum
The modern Alexandra Museum attached to the i-SITE has exhibits on geology, exploration and gold mining. The i-SITE can advise on local tour operators visiting historic gold-mining sites.
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Altitude Adventures
Altitude Adventures rents bikes, offers backcountry cycling tours and provides transport to trailheads.
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Clyde Historical Museum
Clyde Historical Museum has random Maori and Victorian exhibits and information about the Clyde Dam.
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Trail Journeys
Trail Journeys rents bikes, offers backcountry cycling tours and provides transport to trailheads.
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Trail Journeys
Trail Journeys rents bikes (from $35 per day) and kayaks (from $40) and offers cycling tours.
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Stoop Gallery
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Old Cromwell Town
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Hullabaloo Art Space
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Grape Escape
To explore the area’s boutique vineyards in a restored retro school bus, contact the Grape Escape.
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Goldfields Jet
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Cycle Surgery
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