Castles and churches

On 12 October 1898, William Larnach MP stepped into a committee room at the New Zealand Parliament, locked the door, put a pistol to his head and pulled the trigger... and so ended the brilliant and turbulent life of a man who was once a banker, landowner and Minister. Drawn to Dunedin in the 1860s by the gold rush, he prospered and built Larnach Castle for his first wife, Eliza. When he died, aged 65, he left behind a young widow, six children from three marriages, controversy over murky business dealings, and scandalous whispers that his third wife was having an affair with his youngest son.

The beautiful castle that Larnach built was left to crumble and decay until the Barker family purchased it for a song in 1967 and spent the next few decades painstakingly restoring and furnishing it, and breathing new life into the grounds. It is now open to the public and judging from the tour groups, a major attraction.

The steps leading up to the formidable main entrance

Larnach Castle exterior

We are amazed when we visit the castle. Ross drives the 40 minutes from our lodgings through Dunedin and along the lower road that hugs the Otago Peninsula. As we pass the Dunedin harbour front we spot the point of origin for all those timber trucks we saw yesterday. Stacked high in mighty piles are tons of logs, probably from plantations, and lorry after lorry is loaded up before hurrying to the port. Wood is also something that the castle features in abundance. The solid timbers, beautiful workmanship, and amount of effort and expense that must have gone into its restoration are breathtaking.

Two hundred workmen laboured for three years to build the castle 

and craftsmen took another 12 years to complete the ornate interiors

Fine furniture and decor in the Ladies' Drawing Room

We had woken up to very heavy skies and as we drive up the steep hill to Larnach Castle, we are swallowed up in mist and a dense humidity that chills to the bone. Sadly it also means that the beautiful 360 degree views over the Otago harbour promised from the top of the castle tower are not to be. Instead we only manage fleeting glimpses of blue water and distant hills as the mist shifts.

A very blustery and cold tower top with not much of a view alas

We abandon the relative warmth of the house for the gardens. It is cold! But the different garden designs and all the textures and colours make it infinitely worthwhile.

Ross leading me up the garden path

Colours!

More beautiful colours

An outdoor room

A tantalising glimpse of Otago Harbour through the trees 

After tramping around the grounds for a while, the warmth of the ballroom cafe and a piping hot lunch is very welcome. As we drive back to Dunedin, this time along the high road to avoid road works, the clouds finally part and we catch some stunning views of the Pacific side of the Peninsula.

On the road to Dunedin

When we reach Dunedin, the sun is out and it is much warmer. Having wisened up about parking since yesterday, we leave the car on the flat this time! Our afternoon is spent visiting a couple of iconic churches in the City, including St Paul's Anglican Cathedral, built in the 1860s, and the First Presbyterian Church of Otago - marking the beginning of Dunedin as a Free Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) settlement in 1848. 

St Paul's Cathedral

Rose window - St Paul's Cathedral

First Presbyterian Church of Otago

First Church interior

Mission accomplished, Ross manages to walk into two churches without being struck by lightning(!) We don't want to risk walking into a third so we decide to call it a day and head back to our accommodation at Sawyers Bay. After the busy-ness of the last few days, we have a restful afternoon and read, nap, and listen to the birds. The wind picks up outside and starts to howl as the light fades into evening and we watch the final episode of "Chernobyl", perfectly timed to conclude our stay in Dunedin. 

Dunedin - Edinburgh of the south

I wake up to riotous birdsong and feel slightly less disembodied than yesterday. Maybe, finally, the jet lag is starting to lift. Clouds have moved in overnight and the sky threatens rain. We decide to make the short 15 minute drive into Dunedin and aim for the 10:30am walking tour that leaves from the central Octagon... only we underestimate the delays caused by having to navigate unfamiliar streets and find car parking in the city centre. It takes several circuits of city streets before we find some street parking by which time we have missed the start of the walk. So we do the next best thing and stop for coffee before collecting a city map and doing our own walking tour. The "Edinburgh of the South" does its best impression of a Scottish city with its churches and stone buildings, all rather imposing and grim against a slate-grey sky.

St Paul's Cathedral and the statue of Robert Burns

Town Hall

We duck into the warm and inviting Dunedin Public Art Gallery and explore the collection, including a special exhibition of works by early-twentieth century local painter, Frances Hodgkins. Lunch is at the gallery cafe, where we're warned there is a half hour wait for food because the cafe is full of happy graduands and their families. Students from the University of Otago drift past in their flowing gowns and mortar boards, beaming with pride as they grab a bite before the afternoon's graduation ceremonies.

Dunedin Public Art Gallery

The sun is breaking through the clouds when we emerge from the gallery and suddenly even the austere stone buildings take on a bit more cheer when framed against a blue canvas. 

Gleaming spires - Dunedin

The Dunedin Railway Station is an impossibly grand and beautiful building. Inside, the  carriages of the Taieri Gorge train wait patiently next to the platform.

Dunedin Railway Station

Dunedin Railway Station

Not far from the railway station is the Dunedin Chinese Garden, opened in 2008 in recognition of the Chinese people who first came to Otago in the 1860s gold rush and the subsequent generations who have contributed to commerce in Dunedin. In this little corner of New Zealand, it is an oasis of order, greenery and calm, all perfectly proportioned and constructed using traditional materials and methods imported from Shanghai.

   

In my element at the Dunedin Chinese Garden

Examples of Penjing (pot scenery) - the art of creating mini-landscapes using trees and rocks in containers

At the Dunedin Chinese Garden

As our parking is about to run out, we make our way back to the car, which of course, happens to be on top of a hill. And not just any hill. I reflect on the total deficiency of maps to convey local topography as we unknowingly walk up one of the steepest streets in Dunedin. View Street from Moray Place to Tennyson Street has a gradient of 1:4.4 and if my lungs hadn't been busy bursting from the effort of hauling my body to the top, I would have pulled out my camera. It was so steep it should have had a staircase. Later investigations reveal that up until 2019, Dunedin held the Guinness World Record for the steepest street in the world (remarkably, at a gradient of 1:2.9, one even steeper than View Street). Thank God we didn't park at the top of that one!

After panting and heaving for a while, we're able to resume our journey in the car. Ross gets us to the picturesque Dunedin Botanic Garden where I get more of a green fix.

We only walk around a small part of the gardens which cover the hillside and there are so many amazing colours. New and strange flowers that I haven't seen before! And even an aviary where native and "exotic" birds are kept - exotic to NZ perhaps but familiar old friends like red tailed black cockatoos. 

The rich green wonderland of the Dunedin Botanic Garden

Only a small sample of the beautiful flowers in bloom

From the botanic gardens we make our way back to Port Chalmers and stop along the main street to avail ourselves of the laundrette. While we wait for our washing we walk up the hill to the picturesque Iona Church, which is unfortunately shut. There is a large cruise ship in port and a few tourists wander around the main street. Otherwise town is quiet and after picking up some food from the local supermarket, we return to the laundrette and watch as numerous lorries thunder down the hill towards the port, all heavily laden with logs. It is a miracle there are any trees left in New Zealand.

Iona Church, Port Chalmers

Port Chalmers

We return to our lodgings exhausted after a full but fulfilling day. Our big lunch at the art gallery has meant that some simple snacks suffice for dinner. And then we take up our spots in front of the TV to continue watching "Chernobyl", the drama we started watching last night. It is bleak and sobering viewing but fortunately the birds chattering outside and squeaky bed remind us of our far more pleasant reality.

Otago beckons

An early morning check of the highways reveals that, thank Heavens, a detour route on the main highway south was opened late yesterday. There are reports of a huge traffic backlog but hopefully this will have cleared by the time we get there.

We emerge into the cool morning with heads still foggy from jet lag but a walk back to yesterday's cafe and a hearty breakfast does wonders to clear the haze. 

Back to Unknown Chapter - our Christchurch haunt

We stock up on some essentials from the supermarket before checking-out and  jumping in a taxi to the car hire place near the airport. There we're introduced to our new companion for the next 7 days - a small but zippy Toyota Corolla. It takes some contortion to fit our suitcases into the boot, and eventually the rear seat has to give way to fit everything in. And so, late morning sees us on the highway south with Christchurch rapidly receding into the distance. Ross takes the first shift while I try (and fail) to work the satnav. Thankfully my phone proves to be a worthy back-up over the next few days. 

The detour is better than we expected and while it takes us quite a way off the main highway, at least the traffic is moving. We cross the Rangitata River, which is responsible for flooding the main highway downstream. It is still wide and fast flowing but thankfully the river hasn't taken out this crossing as well.

The swollen Rangitata River

We change drivers after a few hours and I take us to just north of Dunedin. Ross takes the last leg so I can focus on navigating and we pass along the very steep, narrow and winding roads of Mt Cargill. The views over the bay from the top are quite spectacular.

Looking down from Mt Cargill

Finally we locate our B+B at the top of a very steep driveway. Our host tells us we were lucky to miss the backlog of 15,000 vehicles that took hours to clear yesterday once the detour opened. We're shown to our own little studio in the loft, which will be our base for the next three days. Apart from the sloping ceilings that take some getting used to, and a very squeaky bed, it is clean and comfortable and we have all we need for our own breakfasts for the next few mornings. Best of all is the view of the Otago Peninsula, and around us nothing but steep hills, bleating sheep and amazing birdsong. 

Looking down to Sawyers Bay and Port Chalmers from our window

The rolling green hills behind

We are both tired but Ross gallantly drives us the 5-minute journey to nearby Port Chalmers where we follow our host's suggestion and dine at the Carey's Bay Historic Hotel. 

                      

It is a cosy refurbished pub and we enjoy some beautiful local fish and very kind and attentive waitstaff. Then it's back to a welcome sleep, both of us trying to lie as still as possible so the bed doesn't squeak, eyelids drooping in the long twilight and drifting off to the serenade of a million birds.

Christchurch - the mosaic of new and old

Christchurch greets us with brilliant sunshine and a big arc of cloudless blue sky. It is 10:30am by the time we reach the Quest although our tired bodies are telling us it's really only early morning and scream out for sleep. A shower and a short nap are in order - just enough to be able to function for the rest of the day.

At lunchtime we walk to St Asaph Street in search of a place that serves all-day breakfast. Success! We stumble across Unknown Chapter, a hipster cafe that offers a much needed coffee fix (for Ross) and beautiful restorative food. We continue our meanders after lunch through a Christchurch that still bears heavy scars of the earthquake 9 years ago. There is plenty of construction going on and lots of new low-rise developments, like the cafe we went to for lunch. But there are also vacant lots where buildings were demolished that are now grassed over or used as car parks, and sadly, plenty of derelict buildings that remain boarded up and fenced off.

The sad legacy of the Christchurch earthquake in 2010

We walk through the pedestrian shopping malls and past the once magnificent Cathedral, which now slumbers behind high fences. It used to be the crowing glory of this city. We didn't think to photograph it 17 years ago when we last visited Christchurch. Like everybody else, we probably just assumed that this monument in stone would be unbreakable and permanent.

The ghost of Christchurch Cathedral

There is a certain quirkiness to this city though, and small glimpses of the resilience and humour that the locals have relied on to get through the tough times until their city can be rebuilt. Like this Mini attached to the side of a building....?

New developments, like this urban greenway, are gradually prettying up the city. And there are many examples of beautiful street art/murals.

Urban greenway project

One of the many murals that are dotted around Christchurch

As we walk back to the hotel and step over the ubiquitous electric scooters parked haphazardly on the footpath, we also pass some small pockets of the original Christchurch that have maintained their charm.

Shops and cafes along New Regent Street

It is only mid-afternoon but we are both tired so we follow the tramlines back to Cathedral Junction and spend a few hours resting in our room. The news story breaks about the volcanic eruption on Whakaari/White Island, which although far away from where we are, is a tragedy that continues to unfold during the remainder of our stay and casts an even greater shadow on a country that is already having to deal with a number of other misfortunes. Those poor poor people.

Dinner is conveniently located just downstairs at the excellent Sakimoto Japanese Bistro - a small and neat cafe that is full to bursting, which is understandable given the lovely food. We return to our room with full tummies and so much tiredness. 

New(s) Zealand

New Zealand is either experiencing particularly bad ju-ju at the moment and/or it's a sign from the Universe that maybe we should have stayed at home. While in transit in Auckland, I notice the news headlines. Weekend storms have caused severe floods, and severed a couple of major highways...

... including State Highway 1 through Timaru, which is precisely the road we will need to travel along tomorrow when we go to Dunedin.