Robin’s Birthday Surprise Dunedin - Christchurch

Today was the final full day of my birthday extravaganza tour, and Dunedin turned on the sunshine for us. 

Following our hotel breakfast we embarked on the final surprise element - a bus trip across the harbour and up onto the headland to the stunning Larnach Castle. 


Built by a successful banker and businessman in 1871, this gothic revival masterpiece was rescued from ruin in 1967 by the Barker family and has long been a labour of love to faithfully restore and refurbish in decor that is true to its era and origins. 








On arrival we were at liberty to wander the extensive grounds and immaculate gardens before embarking on a tour of the interior. We marvelled at lavishly carved wood panelling, audacious chandeliers, intricately worked tapestries and the view from the balcony atop the fourth floor tower, all the while being regaled with the tragic story of William Larnach and his family. We were then ushered back down to the ground floor ballroom and treated to a delectable high tea.  






With the sun still shining we enjoyed a scenic drive back to the city where we were deposited at the Railway Station with an hour to spare, so we wandered back to the Settler’s Museum where Stephen revisited some parts he had had rushed through on Friday afternoon, while I browsed the gift shop. 




Back at the station we boarded the train, happy to find ourselves on the ocean side  for the journey back to Christchurch. We have come to two conclusions during our travels; one is that train travel is very civilised and enjoyable. We reached this verdict while sipping wine, and dining on a cheeseboard as we watched the sun drenched coastline slip sedately by. The second affirmation is that we do not yet belong with the coach travel fraternity - a conclusion we came to during our Sir Edmund Hillary tour of NZ early last year - which was undeniably confirmed during the two very short coach trips of the morning, amid much shared eye-rolling. 



We are now almost back to Christchurch, ETA 8:30 pm, where we will spend our final night in NZ, with time for a brief adventure in the morning,  before our mid-afternoon flight back to the land of Aus. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Robin’s Birthday Surprise - Christchurch

Image
 In the series of birthday surprises, the first was that we got to fly Business Class in a very empty plane (30 passengers!) from Melbourne to Christchurch. Apparently the stars had aligned - a Qantas sale (who can pass that up? Certainly not Wallsy!) and an event, still to be revealed, in NZ. I was also presented with sweet treats, champagne, a qantas cap, qantas keyring and a birthday card. How’s that for a series of surprises!?  The second surprise was that we are staying at the gorgeous Adina Heritage Hotel which I had admired last time we were here and staying over the road from this impressive old Government building that is now the Adina. Not only do I get to see inside this time, I get to sleep in one of its spacious studio apartments for two nights. But that was not the only surprise, it was more importantly the fact that we actually managed to get into the hotel at 12:30am!  Initially faced with a locked door, no response to the intercom and our taxi driving off...
Read more

Robin’s Birthday Surprise - Dunedin

Image
 Well, here we are in Dunedin. But how did you get there from Christchurch, I hear you ask?  The fact is, as I had already speculated, the motivation behind my birthday surprise trip, was a Qantas sale which coincided with a scenic NZ train tour!  The perfect recipe for a wonderful surprise trip.  We left the hotel in Christchurch by taxi a little earlier than the appointed time of 06:45 and it wasn’t until we pulled up outside the Christchurch Addington Railway Station, that I knew for sure we were going on a rail adventure.  Following check-in and some people watching while we awaited boarding, we eventually pulled away right on time at 07:45 and journeyed through beautiful sunshine, across the Canterbury Plains before hugging the coast the majority of the way to Dunedin, the huge picture windows affording unhindered views of the vistas around us.  The Southerner, a heritage rail journey between Christchurch and Dunedin, replicates the seaside journey tha...
Read more

Robin’s Birthday Surprise

 For months our shared iPhone calendars have carried the event titled ‘Robin’s Birthday Surprise’ from May 20-25, and until a few weeks ago it had remained a total mystery to me.  It was the Qantas app that shed a little more light on the plan when it revealed a red-eye flight to Christchurch on Wednesday May 20. Not that I was prying … I was innocently looking for the dates of another planned trip later in the year, when the app spilled the beans.  That is, however, all I know.  My family, when hearing the destination have helpfully provided me with a list of all the extreme sports that are possible when in Christchurch: bungee jumping, white water rafting, land-sailing, quad bike safaris, rock climbing, caving, helicopter flights, jet boats, sea kayaking  … you get the picture.  My response was, that if Stephen Walls was organising the trip I felt confident it was more likely to involve a train than any of the above.  If you would like to find out wh...
Read more