After a stop at the art gallery in the Dunedin Railway Station (ERROR 404 - photos not taken), it was on to Taiaroa Head for some albatross watching. There were two juveniles in the air when we got there, but it was hard to get a picture of them. There were plenty of seals and other sea birds, though.
It was a beautiful day, though what these pictures do not reflect was how very, very windy it was.
A fur seal!
The seal was ready for his close-up.
I think I say it every time, but I never got over how beautiful the water is.
It's entirely possible there are more seals on the rocks here. It's also entirely possible there aren't. I'm not trying to be clever, I honestly don't remember and there are limits to my cell phone's camera.
After our adventure at Taiaroa, it was on to New Zealand's one and only castle. In the late 19th century, a rather successful businessman by the name of William Larnach decided he needed a humble family abode, and construction began in 1871.
It took four years to complete construction, as materials were shipped into the port in Dunedin, shipped across the bay to a landing on the south side, and then carried overland to the actual site of the castle, some 10km (6.2 miles) down the bay with less than civilized roads. A 3,000 square foot ballroom (to the right in the photo above) was completed in 1887, a gift for Larnach's daughter Kate on her 21st birthday. It is now a lovely café.
Despite early happy years, the Larnach family suffered a series of deaths and scandals, and the castle passed through several owners and eventually was abandoned and left to rot. In 1967, the Barker family was in the area on holiday and stumbled upon the property. They fell in love with the crumbling building, bought it, and have devoted their lives to restoring it to its former glory. They've done an absolutely amazing job, though work is still ongoing. Amazingly, the family was able to recover some of the original furniture and fittings at auction, the rest of the house is furnished with pieces contemporary to the era of construction. The level of craftsmanship and detail is astonishing.
The porch was initially open to the elements, but after the first Dunedin winter glass was imported from Venice to enclose it.
As I said, restoration is ongoing. Between the neglect, storms, wind, and earthquakes, that the house is still standing is a testament to its original construction and the Barker family's care.
This spectacularly creepy statue hangs in the bedroom of Larnach's second wife. She began an affair with Larnach's son from his first marriage, the scandal of which eventually led to Larnach's suicide. The rest of the room is filled with clothing that belonged to the women of the house, but due to their fragile condition and the low light in the rest of the room, I didn't take any pictures.
A trippy view back down the stairs.
A series of shelves and a bench in the room just below the castle turret.
The stairs leading up. Quite narrow and uneven.
One must hope one doesn't meet someone going in the opposite direction.
However the views from the top are kind of not bad.
The view over the ballroom.
The town of Dunedin is off this direction, with what I believe is Mount Grand in the background. (This is a guess, the mountain I've been told this was is actually somewhere else.
Back downstairs, detail of the stained glass, with the Larnachs paying tribute to their Scottish and Irish ancestry.
There's a small armor under the main entry stairs.
New Zealanders are serious about their gardens, and Larnach Castle is no exception.
View back toward the castle. Some of the back rooms were converted into a private residence for the Barker family.
I was housesitting on the other side of the bay, somewhere in this view.
The gardens have an Alice and Wonderland theme, in honor of a print that was found in one of the upstairs rooms during early renovations.
The castle is a popular wedding venue, with this arbor often serving for an aisle. I'm told the vines have yellow flowers in the spring, though I keep missing them.
