High Country Salmon is a family-owned, working salmon farm on the hydro canals 3km south of Twizel on State Highway 8, where premium Chinook salmon is raised, harvested, smoked and served all in one place. For more than twenty-five years it has been delighting long-serving locals, international visitors, schools and tour groups with a genuine glacier-to-plate experience in the heart of the Mackenzie.
At its centre is Logans Floating Restaurant, New Zealand's only floating café, open daily from 10am to 7pm with all-day à la carte dining until 6.30pm. Fresh salmon is the star — sashimi, sushi, salmon planks, hot mains and platters, all made fresh on site — alongside cabinet food, Allpress coffee, local beers, wines, cold drinks and plenty of non-salmon options made with the same care. No reservations are necessary and there's plenty of parking, while the deck's sweeping views over water and mountains often come with Grebes, Scaup or the elegant Kōtuku gliding past.
There is plenty more to do than eat: fish feeding is free, farm talks cover Chinook salmon, farm history and sustainable aquaculture, and visitors can reel in and take home their own catch with gear and guidance provided. The Fish Shop & Deli, open 9am to 5.30pm daily, stocks the full range from fresh fillets and smoked and cured salmon to gourmet deli items, crackers, condiments, travel-ready packs and gifts. Everything is harvested to order and available online with overnight delivery to most New Zealand addresses. All areas are closed on Christmas Day.
Halfway between Twizel and the wide open country to the south, on the hydro canals just off State Highway 8, sits one of the Mackenzie's most distinctive stops. High Country Salmon is a working Chinook salmon farm where the fish you watch circling in the glacier-fed water below your feet may well end up on your plate — sliced as sashimi, curled into sushi, or hot-smoked and stacked in a burger — having travelled barely any distance at all.
The farm has been raising, harvesting and serving salmon in the High Country of New Zealand for more than twenty-five years, delighting long-serving locals, international visitors, schools and tour groups along the way. Family-owned and proudly local, it grows premium Chinook salmon in the cold canal waters of the Mackenzie and handles everything on site: the growing, the harvesting, the smoking and curing, and the cooking.
That short line from canal to kitchen is the whole idea behind the glacier-to-plate experience. Fish are harvested to order, with the same freshness carried straight into Logans Floating Restaurant and into the Fish Shop & Deli, where the full range — from fresh whole salmon and a wide range of cuts to smoked and cured favourites — is on sale every day. If you can't make it back, the online shop delivers overnight to most New Zealand addresses.
Logans Floating Restaurant is, by its own description, New Zealand's only floating café, and it makes the most of the setting. Tables sit out over the water with sweeping views up the canals to the mountains, and it isn't unusual to spot Grebes, Scaup or even the elegant Kōtuku gliding past the deck. The restaurant is open daily from 10am to 7pm, with the all-day à la carte menu running until 6.30pm. No reservations are necessary, there's plenty of parking, and walk-ins are the norm.
Fresh salmon is the star: sashimi, sushi, salmon planks, hot mains and platters, all made on site, alongside cabinet food, Allpress coffee, local beers, wines and cold drinks. Not a salmon person? There are plenty of non-salmon options made with the same care. One guest's brunch — hot smoked salmon, soft shell crab and papaya salad on a charcoal bun — was, in their words, the best lunch they'd had in New Zealand, while another declared the classic fish and chips the best they'd ever had. Across more than a thousand verified reviews, High Country Salmon holds a 4.88-star rating.
There's more to do here than eat. Fish feeding is free, and watching the salmon surge to the surface never seems to get old. For a deeper dive, the Talk & Taste farm talk covers Chinook salmon, the history of the farm and the sustainable practices that set it apart — bookings are essential for groups. Feeling ambitious? Reel in your own salmon: gear and guidance are provided, you take your catch home, and first-timers, families and curious travellers are all welcome.
Tour groups are well catered for too, with pre-booked options including buffet-style lunches, sushi platters and salmon sashimi, eaten in or taken away.
The Fish Shop & Deli, open from 9am to 5.30pm daily, is home to the full range: smoked and cured salmon in many flavours, gourmet deli items, crackers, condiments, travel-ready packs for picnics and platters, chef seasonings and tools, and branded merchandise to remind you of the visit.
Whether you pull over for a quick coffee and a walk along the ponds or settle in for a long lunch on the floating deck, High Country Salmon is an easy, memorable Mackenzie stop — 3km south of Twizel on State Highway 8, closed only on Christmas Day. If you're passing through at midday in busy season, arrive a little early; you won't be the only one who's heard about it.