Hop in, mate," said Vaughan Mabee, the jovial mohawked executive chef of Amisfield, from inside his silver pickup. We are just outside the precincts of Queenstown, the most famous city in the New Zealand region of Otago, the birthplace of bungee jumping and the self-proclaimed "adventure capital of the world." "I will show you there is a lot more to this area than leaping off a fucking bridge."
Mabee inhabits a different Otago from the one sought out annually by 2 million thrill-seekers-an Otago I'd come eager to experience. Unfurling beyond the bubble of Queenstown, it's a part of New Zealand that remains remarkably untrodden, offering a different set of thrills: dynamic wineries producing supple Pinot Noirs; former gold rush outposts reimagined by bold personalities; a culinary and hospitality landscape defined by a uniquely Kiwi ethos. Mabee, for instance, operates Amisfield as an extension of his most ardent obsessions: hunting, foraging, and evangelizing about the area's natural wonders. Among his most revered dishes is charcuterie made from paradise ducks he's shot, the cured meat reconstructed to resemble taxidermy, complete with the bird's actual wings.
We met in late February, the tail end of the country's summer. Mabee drove first along State Highway 6, passing through the picturesque valleys of two subregions for winemaking: Bannockburn and Gibbston. Then it was up the serpentine curves of Crown Range Road, the highest main artery in the country, where Mabee veered off onto a stretch of gravel and came to a stop. I was confused. In a corner of the world dense with harrowing beauty-flaxen meadows giving way to snowcapped peaks, glaciers abutting rainforests-it seemed he wanted to show me a rare pocket that was not unnervingly scenic.
Denne historien er fra September - October 2024-utgaven av Condé Nast Traveler US.
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Denne historien er fra September - October 2024-utgaven av Condé Nast Traveler US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The Brando
THE STORY GOES that actor Marlon Brando first arrived on the 18-isle atoll of Tetiaroa by water-as in, he swam ashore.
Jumeirah Burj AI Arab
IF EVER THERE WAS a hotel that could achieve landmark status, it is Dubai's Jumeirah Burj AI Arab, which stands alone on its own purpose-built island just off Jumeirah Beach.
Blackberry Farm
BLACKBERRY FARM LOOMS in the consciousness of many travelers as an almost mythical Southern sanctuary in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, a place whose storybook perfection has to be experienced to be believed.
Fogo Island Inn
THIS 29-ROOM MODERN CLASSIC in Newfoundland is a model for place-specific hospitality, dreamed up by founder Zita Cobb and built by Shorefast, a nonprofit that supports economic and cultural resilience on the hotel's namesake island and runs artist residencies in four isolated, incredibly photogenic studios.
ALAN CUMMING on CROSSING THE ATLANTIC
I went on Cunard's Queen Mary 2 for the first time in 2011.
high life
Italy's unfussy Dolomites are a place of cheerful communities, where simple chalets and good food can almost outshine the skiing
the possibility of an island
Cuba may be facing tough times, but the country's hoteliers, creators, and artists are forging a hopeful and beautiful way forward
in full bloom
Over the past three years, hotelier Fabrizio Ruspoli has turned an old olive farm south of Marrakech into the High Atlas's most intoxicating garden retreat
ALLIN
Fun has never been hard to come by in Las Vegas, but the arrival of pro sports, the Sphere, and lavish new hotels has upped the ante.
Forward March
Across Kenya, community initiatives are protecting the country's wildlife and environment. By Mary Holland
