The New Zealand Castle

While staying in Dunedin Matt and I visited Larnach Castle, advertised as New Zealand's only castle. The home was built by William Larnach in the 1870s and is really more of a mansion, but the details and history are still very impressive. Larnach named his home "The Camp" and used the symbol of the Scottish wildcat throughout. I approve of his mascot (and Tilly would too)!

The entryway floor from the second story. 

We roamed the gardens framed by tall hedges and met some resident ducks in their picturesque pool before heading inside for a self-guided tour. There were multiple stories connected by a swirling, hanging staircase. Each room had interesting details and ceilings of carved wood or plaster molded into intricate designs. My favorite room was the relatively plain room in the lower level that held all of the Larnach family history. Their history read like a tragic novel. William Larnach built the house with his beloved first wife, Eliza. After she died twenty-one years and six children later, he married her sister, Mary, and put the house in her name as his businesses failed and his debts grew. Mary died five years later, and William had to do some legal trickery to get the house back in his name. He then married the much younger Constance. She began an affair with William's oldest son, and it is believed the affair is what prompted William Larnach to suicide. What drama! The house had personal items on display such as Constance's white bridal gown and William's spyglass. I always appreciate the reminder that even those living in a castle with beautiful gowns were not necessarily happy. Wealth cannot buy happiness, after all. 

The tour began in the history room on the lowest level and ended at a steep, stone staircase that led outside to the turret. I appreciated the beautiful ocean views of the Otago peninsula while Matt admired the strategic advantage of building a house on a hill surrounded on multiple sides with water. He explained the difficulty of attempting to surprise the Larnach family since they could see ships from so far away. While this castle might not have ever been under attack, they did choose a perfectly beautiful spot to build. We only spent a few hours at Larnach castle, but I think it was an amazing combination of museum for Matt and castle (with cats!) for me. 

The view from the turret.

The Sunday Snapshot

Peacock Fountain in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. It reminded me so much of Savannah, GA!

The Argument for Driving through New Zealand

Our little car taking us through the mountains towards Milford Sound. 

While researching our trip to New Zealand I read multiple blogs that gave conflicting opinions on the best mode of transportation. Some advised renting a car or van and driving yourself, but others suggested taking hop-on hop-off tour buses that traveled through all the towns we visited. Here are five reasons I would encourage others to drive themselves through this beautiful country. 

1. The rental company made the process easy for us. 

We rented an economy car from Ace, and they provided a shuttle from the airport to the rental agency the day we arrived and another shuttle from the rental agency to the train station the day before we left. We saved money by not having to take any taxis until after we returned the car. With our U.S. driving license we did not have to fill out any extra paperwork. They just reminded us to stay on the left side of the road, and off we went!

Golden fields and blue ocean on the Eastern coast. 

2. The driving was not stressful. 

Full disclosure: Matt did all of the driving, so I cannot comment from personal experience. I should say Matt did not consider the driving stressful. Driving in Okinawa is full of swerving around cars parked in the street and trying to get through a million stop lights, but New Zealand is mostly empty two-lane roads surrounded by sheep and amazing scenery. The handy GPS never led us astray, and we played an audiobook to entertain the both of us while Matt drove. (Packing for Mars by Mary Roach - highly recommended!)

The only time I was nervous was on the drive to Milford Sound. We had to travel THROUGH a mountain in a dark, damp tunnel for ten minutes, and afterwards we were going back and forth down a mountain range. The drive seemed dangerous to me, but I trusted Matt in our tiny car more than I would a bus driver in a gigantic vehicle. 

We also did not have a problem obeying New Zealand traffic laws, since we are used to driving on the left side of the road, except for ONE TIME. We did get pulled over once, and the police officer wrote us a ticket instead of a warning. We were on a straight country road with no cars or buildings in sight. The speed limit was 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) and our car was clocked at 112 kph (70 mph). Not even a warning for tourists?!? I call speed trap. Still, the police officer was friendly and the small ticket did not add any additional stress to our trip. 

Overlooking Lake Wakatipu

3. The freedom in our schedule. 

Some tour buses only leave once a day from certain towns. We would have to rush to make the one bus! Instead, we slept as long as we wanted, grabbed breakfast (or brunch, depending on the time of day), and started on the road whenever we felt like it. 

We could also visit wherever we wanted, even smaller attractions that might be more difficult to schedule with a bus. For example, we stopped at the Moeraki Boulders during sunset. It was not peak time since the tide was in and the cafe was closed, but that was when we passed the sign to turn-off. We were the only two on the beach!

4. We stopped whenever we wanted or needed to take a break. 

Matt was a wonderfully patient travel companion and stopped whenever I needed a bathroom break. There are lots of public bathrooms along the scenic roads in NZ, and most of them are outside. Some were very clean and well-stocked, but others did not flush and had no soap. Beggars can't be choosers in the middle of nowhere (especially when I really had to go), so I am glad the option was available. I am also glad I wasn't stuck on a bus that would not stop for potty breaks as often as I would like!

5. The photos without other people!

Whenever we saw a tour bus stop at a famous sight, forty to fifty people got off and started clicking immediately. Conversely, in our little car we stopped along the road to take photos whenever we wanted and had no other people in the way of the amazing views. 

The unobstructed views of the Otago Peninsula. Worth the drive!

The New Zealand Overview

After unpacking and sorting through the hundreds of photos we snapped, I am thrilled to review our longest and most expensive trip to date - New Zealand! It was the most beautiful place on Earth I have witnessed, and if I do not leave Japan again until we move I will still be content with my experiences in the Pacific. I want to share our itinerary and details for any other lucky travelers  trying to make the hard decisions about what to see and do in New Zealand.

Matt and I flew from Okinawa to Tokyo on Jetstar (the cheapest airline I could find for the two hour trip), but flew Air New Zealand the ten hours from Tokyo to Auckland as well as the short jump from Auckland in the North Island to Christchurch in the South Island. I have only flown United on long trips, but Air New Zealand was a completely different experience. In a good way! Air New Zealand offers a sky couch option in economy class. I simply paid for the third seat in the row I selected for Matt and myself, and the whole thing converts into a bench. The armrests fold up and the footrests fold out even with the seat. Matt was able to sit cross-legged leaning against the window while I could curl up and only take up two seats. Being able to lie down on a flight was huge! The food was also the best I've had while flying, and you could request drinks and snacks for free at any time. Moving from Jetstar where they charge you even for a glass of water to this luxury made me feel like a million bucks.

We splurged on the airfare, so we saved on our accommodations. We stayed in hostels which have a bad reputation in America but were a clean, affordable alternative in New Zealand. I booked private, ensuite rooms so we had a private bathroom and locking door, like a hotel, but we could use the public kitchen and laundry unique to hostels that cater to younger (and poorer) travelers.

Our favorite room in Te Anau was just a converted shed, but it was private and cozy. We stayed three nights!

Day 1: We landed in Christchurch around noon and realized the difficulty of life without cell phones. In order to call our rental car company to send a shuttle we had to find an atm in order to withdraw New Zealand dollars, make change since the pay phone only accepted coins, and figure out how to dial a foreign number.  Ace rentals sent a shuttle, we picked up our economy car, and drove to our first hostel. We stayed on the top floor of YMCA Christchurch in a room overlooking the botanical gardens right across the street.

Day 2: We drove the longest leg of our trip to Dunedin, a town founded by Scottish settlers with distinctly European architecture. We checked into Kiwi's Nest Backpackers, a converted 100-year-old house with a wood-burning water heater named Gentle Ben. 

Day 3: Matt climbed Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world, while I slept in. New Zealand has a four hour time difference from Japan that made it very difficult to rise and shine in the morning. After brunch we explored Larnach Castle and the Dunedin Railway Station.

Day 4: We ate too much chocolate on a behind-the-scenes tour of Cadbury World that included a chocolate waterfall and all-you-can-eat liquid chocolate. We then set out in the rain to our next stop. We checked into Te Anau Lakefront Backpackers, which, as its name suggests, was right on Lake Te Anau. 

Day 5: The perfect, sunny day for a Milford Sound cruise! It had rained the day before so all of the waterfalls were magnificent. We did not even make it to the sound before we stopped along the roadside to take pictures. 

Day 6: We cruised across Lake Te Anau on our way to see glowworm caves. There was no whispering allowed once we entered the pitch-black caves, but as the guide maneuvered the tiny boat we saw blinking blue lights on the cave ceiling that looked just like stars! 

Day 7: I toured a farm and finally got to pet one of the lambs I had seen scampering around the many sheep pastures in the country.  We also got to meet some adorable alpacas, but I was not so thrilled to meet pigs and goats. I don't think I am a country girl at heart. We finished the day driving into Queenstown and staying at YHA Queenstown Central. 

Day 8: We spent a leisurely morning on the lakefront in Queenstown eating brunch and shopping for souvenirs. We enjoyed a late lunch and coffee in the nearby town of Wanaka that had beautiful views of snow-capped mountains over a blue lake. That night we stayed at YHA Franz Josef.

Day 9: Matt hiked to the Franz Josef glacier while I took myself to breakfast. We had the rest of the day to drive to Greymouth, and we made several stops when signs pointed to nearby attractions. My favorite photo stop was Fantail Falls that emptied into a turquoise pool!

Inside Dunedin Railway Station

Day 10: We took the Tranz-Alpine Railway from Greymouth to Christchurch. It cut through the mountains with some spectacular views. We slept in Christchurch a few hours before our early flight the next day. Farewell, New Zealand!