24 hours in Methven

Soaring over a patchwork of paddocks, soaking in pure mountain water and speeding upriver: Lisa Scott spends a weekend in Canterbury’s coolest little town.

 

Lock, Scott, and 2 smoking barrels

"Shall I get the knives?" asks Sandra. Yes, why not, and the throwing axes and a brace of double-barrelled shotguns. Let’s do all the things you’re normally not allowed to do unless you’re a Viking or Sandra and Neil, who have spent 20 years building the range they run at Fable Terrace Downs Resort.

Like everywhere in Methven, called Piwakawaka in Māori, the mountains frame everything you do.

"Don’t second guess it," says Neil, silver medallist at the Beretta Worlds, as I follow the flight of a clay target with my gun and blast it to smithereens. "F... yeah!" I shout. Shooting things relieves of a lot of pent-up aggression, and even if I do throw knives like a girl letting go of a butterfly, I still manage to hit the bullseye.

Variety is the spice

Katrina and Ranga at Craft@Arabica love to create new menu offerings (Katrina has her best ideas when she can’t sleep: "We need a glaze made from Strange Nature Gin!").

Their latest burger, ‘Kiwi As’ is also their entry in the inaugural Ashburton burger bash, coming up in November. Featuring all local ingredients, Netherby Meats make the patty, which is glazed using honey made by Staveley bees and L&P, and served on a pretzel bun. "A great burger comes down to the fat in the patty and the flavours," Ranga says, and the ‘Kiwi As’ is superb, just the right amount of sweet with a hint of spice, and bacon too. Sticky fingers crossed it wins.

A nice walk

There are plenty of great walks around Methven — the Rakaia River walk, Sharplin Falls track, and Awa Awa Rata reserve, where the rhododendrons are just coming out and the bellbirds are courting, perched on a branch above your head, all puffed up and singing their hearts out to impress the ladies.

Solar rose

Mountain ice is the pure water source of Ōpuke Thermal Pools and Spa. Water from the Rangitata River fed by the glacial melt water emerging from the Southern Alps, to be exact. A paddock three years ago, the Ōpuke build reused the excavated dirt to create a mound for its impressive solar array of 480 tubes heating the pool’s 550,000 litres of water. The kaupapa of the pools is connection, it’s a place to connect with whanau, with your partner, with yourself, a space to feed your soul by the simple act of immersing yourself in hot water and taking in unparalleled views of the snowcapped mountains and pinking evening sky. The adults-only Tranquillity pools are heated to 38°C, while the cold plunge pools are there to make sure you earn the views. As if this wasn’t glorious enough, you can also enjoy a pizza served on a floating basket with a glass of wine, all while wearing your togs!

Up up and away

Inflating like a circus tent appearing in a field, Adventure Balloons’ take-off is effortless and soundless — in no time we were flying at 7000 feet, higher than Mt Hutt, whose snow-capped peak we could admire. A quiet adrenaline rush, from above you can appreciate the braided Rakaia, the water races, the green, gold and brown patchwork of plains below, and just how beautiful paddocks are, one so intricate it looked like a woven wicker floor mat. Ballooning is so peaceful, the only way you can judge whether you’re higher or lower is the level of detail. Chief pilot Graeme points out ranges and rivers as we glide over the landscape, moving fast, feeling slow. Hot-air ballooning was invented in France, so that’s why we have Champagne after landing.

Afternoon zoomies

From floating in silence above the braided river to zooming up it in a jet-boat with Blair from Discovery Jet. From the water you can see the marvellous strata formed by the volcanic activity that crafted this river valley, like a monstrous pair of hands pulling apart Playdoh. Grey glacial silt, coal in the seams (there’s actually an old coal mine under one of the banks) and stripes in hues of ochre — a Martian landscape like those sand paintings grandma used to bring back from Australia. Suspended particles of glacial moraine are what make the river look milky.

The Rakaia’s source comes from three rivers: the Mathias, Wilberforce and Harper, and its flow can fluctuate from 70 cumecs (tonnes per second) to just below 6000 at its highest recorded flood. Our boat was powered by a 350 chev v8 motor with about 330 horsepower — I couldn’t tell you how fast we were going, but my face hurt from smiling.

An oppie with coffee

Everything at Primo Cafe is for sale, even the spoon you’re stirring your long black with. It’s the place in the alpine village to stop and have a nosey — the service is like watching a play, and you might just come away with a Replogle globe that you never knew you needed.

Biking Mt Hutt

Mt Hutt Bike Park has over 40km of trails, from a family-friendly loop to epic single track, double-black diamond technical descents and some nice climbs to link it all together and make people following your Strava jealous as heck. And it’s FREE.

Salty goodness

After an action-packed 24 hours, nothing beats a visit to the Salt Room. Halotherapy, or dry salt therapy, is a natural way to support respiratory and skin health, as well as promote relaxation, revitalisation and overall wellbeing. The minute Cherie tucked me up with two hot water bottles and a soft heavy blanket, mediation music and medical grade salt being pumped into the room, I was out.