Dunedin and then some...

Dunedin is a very charming town, full of Scottish history. They were having unseasonably dreary and rainy weather, so we planned indoor activities for a change.

We hopped aboard the Taieri Gorge Train, some cars from the 1920's, which took us on a 2-hour ride through incredible scenery: high cliffs, bridges, rivers and craggy rock faces of shist rock.

The train and Dunedin Tran Station

Interior of the station


View from the train

On our return we visited the Cadbury Chocolate Factory and had a tour (and got free samples--yum-yum!)

On to the Otago Settlers' Museum which had wonderful exhibits about the stoic pioneers from England and Scotland. NZ in the 1870's was not for the faint of heart.

We had a really nice rainy walk through the campus of Otago University, built in the 1870's, full of Victorian buildings. Just wonderful.

They don't build universities like this anymore

We even met a woman from the administrative staff who showed us around the Chancellor's reception room and senate meeting room.




Speaking of architecture, the next day we visited the only "castle" in NZ, Larnach Castle. In truth, this is a castle-like mansion, again built in the 1870's by an Australian banker who loved the hilltop location. And he was right. The view is incredible and looks over the entire Otago Peninsula out to the Tasman Sea. The house was in great dis-repair over many years and in 1967, it was bought by a family who painstakingly had it restored to its former glory. The wife is an avid gardener, too, so the gardens all around the house are fabulous. The Barker family have an apartment there and are still involved daily with the restoration. It reminded me a lot of Filoli mansion, near San Mateo.

Larnach Castle


View from the tower


Garden shot

The castle even comes with its own bagpiper!

Our next stop was at the Royal Albatross Colony on the very end of Otago Peninsula. (At first I thought this place had a connection to the Queen, but found out it's named "royal" because it's the largest species of albatross. About 9.5 kilos and a wing-span of 3.5 meters.) We were able to view them from an enclosed viewing platform and these birds are BIG. And they can glide/fly for great distances. One was measured by GPS that went 1800 kilometers in one day without every touching ground. Talk about long-haul flights! They can live up to 60 years.

Royal albatross in flight


Albatross in flight and shag (type of bird) mud nests

Next stop on our way to Oamaru for the night was to see the Moeraki Rocks. These are very round cracked boulders that somehow were eroded away from the coastline walls and ended up on the beach. They look like turtle backs. Very cool.

Moeraki Rocks