Looking for something a little different from your every day hotel...then this might be the place for you. Lanarch Castle is located on the beautiful Otago peninsular 30 minutes from the city of Dunedin on the south island. The surrounding area is scenic with albatross and penguin colonies near by. There are two options of accommodation - themed rooms or stables. The ride up to the castle is a little hair raising (winding roads up and over the peninsular) but worth it once you arrive. Entering through the gate you will see lots of trees and vegetation and following the road you will come to pristine landscaping and finally a first view of the castle. The lady at the gate asked to stop at the bottom of the steps leading to the main entrance of the castle. As soon as we pulled up a lady (wearing a long tartan skirt) opened the door to greet us. After checking us in and giving us directions to the stables and she met us at the stable doors. Leading us through the stables and past the one horse...OK a large model of a horse...and up the stairs she showed us to our room. After pointing out everything...including a shared fridge with a bottle of milk for tea/coffee...she asked if everything was to our liking. That was a first! The upstairs of the stable has been converted into 10 rooms with shared toilets, showers and a small reading area. The toilets and showers are more like you would find in a gym though they were very clean and served their purpose. Our room had a double bed and two twin beds and towels, toiletries and extra blankets were provided. The downstairs still looks like a stable with one stall being used as a reading/TV area and another had a very old computer supposedly hooked to the internet for a price (it was not working when we were there). And don’t forget the stall with the horse!! The other part has been converted into a kitchen and dining area where they serve a full made-to-order breakfast which was included in the price of our room. It is very rustic and all in keeping with the ambience. The castle is not actually a true castle but a large family home built to resemble one. Built in 1871 by a rich businessman, by the 1960's it was sitting in ruins before the present owner purchased it in 1967 and over the years restored it to as close to the original plans as possible. The main building of the castle is now a museum which is free to hotel staying guests. There is also a gift shop and a cafe open during the day. Optional: 3 course dinner in the castle dining room sitting a large table with other hotel guests. The menu is usually Scottish themed. The cost is around NZ$60 (US$45) per person and though expensive, the food, the experience and the ambience made it well worth it. All of the staff are exceptionally friendly and helpful. The lady that checked us in was also our dinner host/server. She was very knowledgeable about the hotel and told us stories including one about a stable room being haunted (not ours thankfully). I would recommend this place to anyone wanting something a little different than a generic hotel stay. I only have two negatives for this place. One being the internet not working - especially if want to research local activities. The other is that for those not wanting to pay the high price for dinner there are no other options other than to drive back down the winding road and into Dunedin. One hour roundtrip and even more scary in the dark!!! And one last thing…the weather can be temperamental here. When we visited it was cold and rainy and at one point the clouds hid the views of the peninsular. However it gave the castle and gardens a kind of mystical feel. I just wish the sun would have been out when we made it out to the roof.

Sadly this is where my trip came to an end.  I had to say goodbye to the enchanting south Island and get ready to embark upon yet another mammoth journey back to London.  This would begin with a domestic flight to Auckland, ajoined with a transit of a whooping 12 hours.  Followed by a 12 hour flight to Hong Kong, plus transit, then my final flight back into European airspace....a mere 15 hours...AARRRGGGGHHHH.  A total of nearly 50 hours without changing my clothes or having the prilivage of sleeping in a horizontal position. 

On the up side up, this torture only seemed to spur me on, and after failing to forget my time in NZ several months on- back in the UK, I decided it was time for action.  So.....in septemeber 2008 I will be leaving once again for NZ, but not for a whirlwind 9 days this time, oh no.  This time im leaving with my life in a backpack, a working visa in my back-burner and all the New Zealand Dollars I can get my hands on!!

Time for the real adventures to begin......   ;)

We woke on our penultimate day surprisingly early, and decided to head up to Greymouth to find some breakfast.  Greymouth was a relitively pleasent town on the ocean,  though it had an unwelcoming industrial feel to the place.  Despite that, Breakie was top class, and now we were ready to continue our last day of road trippage!  The plan was to come of route 6 and join 73 which would take us right through the centre of the island bringing us out on the other side at Christchurch. 

We made it into Kumara quite quickly, and managed to drive on past the town and indeed the last petrol garage.  Luckily we realised our mistake in time and sensibily drove back to re-fuel the hire car.  As it turned out we didnt seen another car or petrol garage for about 3 hours....another lucky escape!   Route 73 leds you directly through Arthurs Pass National Park, another spectacular drive through a dense, mountainous track again filled with awesome sights and scenary.  It was named after Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson, a man who first led the Europeans through the pass from the west to the east coast around the same time that the west coast was hit by a huge gold rush around 1865.  There is supposedly a place called The Devils PunchBowl Falls within walking distance of the township of Arthurs Pass, another magnificent waterfall which looks fantastic, but sadly I didnt have time to explore. 

We made it to Christchurch in good time after our journey across the island, and after circling the city for over an hour, we found a suitable motel (one with a spa!) to stay in for our last night.  I think I spent the entire night in the Hot Tub, until wrinkled beyond humanity...trying to convince myself that having to go back to England was a good thing....I just couldnt think of a reason why!

After a whirl wind week in QT, it was time to start making our way back to Christchurch for the flight home, but instead of travelling the same route back as we choose inbound, we decided to think more creatively.  Originally my plans were to leave on the 22nd, leaving only one day to get back, driving east.  However after a seven days of New Zealand at its best, I was gagging for more spectacular scenery before I had to spend my days back in England, looking out the window at flat fields, and that ever present green that covers everything!  So, off we went, one day early, and began heading west instead of east.......  this of course would eventually lead us to the West Coast of the South Island, and we planned to drive all the way along the coast until Greymouth, then cut across the island to make it to Christchurch in time.  What a mission!!!!   (For anyone who knows what the driving is like in NZ, im sure you will apprieciate in retrospect, that this was a fabulous, yet slightly stupid idea!   It basically meant having to spend the next following two days in the car, driving constantly......BUT seeing absolutely awesome sights along the way.) 

Ironically we didnt end up leaving QT until nearly midday.....I just couldnt resist a cooked breakfast from OldManRock, and not surprisingly we had JaggerBomb fuzzy heads in the morning, and my driver was not taking any interest of my 'GET UP!!!' comments earlier in the morning.   So eventually, we made our way out of the QT.....through into Frankton and onwards towards the Crown Range again, to head towards Wanaka and beyond.  At this point we were on route NO. 6 - a stunning drive that takes you north out of Wanaka and directly past Lake Hawea, through Makarora and into the Mount Aspiring National Park and virtually all the way along the west side of the south island.  Now, Im not sure that my writing could ever do justice to the beauty and awe of this place, but I shall try my absolute best.  During the several hours it took to get through this dense terrain, I must have seen more waterfalls, than I saw other people......  Just when you thought it couldnt get any more spectacular, you drove round another bend, and BAM....there was another waterfall before your very eyes, gushing out from the side of the mountains surrounding you.  Magical seems too cheesey a word, but it was truly incredible..... land totally untouched by man, completely raw and harsh yet beautiful at the same time.  It was raining torentially during our drive through Mount Aspiring National Park.... it actually rained the enitre day.  But somehow, the rain just made everything greener.....the rivers more agressive and domineering.  I honesly felt like I had been transported into the depths of an South American Jungle, and doubted on several occasions that our dodgey Nissan Sunny would make it round the tretourous winding roads before us.  Yet, all of a sudden, after the hours of relentless forest covered mountain ranges all the way from QT and Wanaka....the path opened and there was the ocean.  Haast.  

We had to stop at this point, to stretch our legs, to take in the Ocean that we hadnt seen since arriving in NZ a week previously.  Our bellies were grumbling at their neglect and so we stopped at the only resturant we came across, fearing we may not see another for several hours.  I can imagine that small motel gets a regular admission of tired, hungary looking drivers that have no doubt done exactly the same route as we just had......either way Ive never been so gratful of a large icey glass of the ole Diet Coke and some lunch (which was really dinner being mid afternoon already)

As soon as the plates were collected off the table, we were off again; we still had a scary (probably illegal) amount of driving to do if we had any chance of making it far enough up the west coast to enable us to still catch our flight from Christchurch two days later.  Of course at this point, we were actually travelling in the opposite direction from the airport we were travelling from in no less then a day and a half later!

The drive up the west coast brings you through a number of small villages, most of which didnt even have a village shop, just a sprinkling of traditional houses.  In fact the first major cilivisaiton we saw was several hours later at Fox Glacier.  Unfortunately by this point we were once again driving in pitch black darkeness, so we were unable to enjoy the beauty of the place (I have been before a decade ago...and still remeber!).  However we stopped again at this point to re-stock our car supplies (IE Rizla, more diet coke and munchies to keep up the drivers sugar levels!!!!).  I should mention that the rain was still pouring, and funnily my mate ended up falling out of his car door straight into large puddle lol.  Of course if you even step in a puddle, its a bit annoying, ya know your socks are wet...you havent got any clean ones etc.  But to actually be laying down in a puddle....well lol I couldnt help but laugh my arse off, and luckily so did he!  We managed to get shelter in the weirdly hi-teck public toilets that actually talk to you (and electronically delegate you two squares of toilet roll!) for a quick change of clothes, yet another cigarette and a warm drink from the village store.   ONWARDS!

Our last and final stretch of the day was from the Glacier region all the way up to Hokitika, a mere 40 minutes short south of Greymouth....our original destination, but after being on the road for 8 odd hours, enough was enough!  We managed to locate a Motel/Caravan site at roughly half nine in the eveing, and were warmly welcomed by a lady who's jaw dropped slightly when we explained we had made it from Qt in this ghastly weather.  She at that point decided to fetch the keys to the Hot Tub room, deciding we were in need of a good soak and left us to our own devices....happy days!  When we finally got into the cabin  we were residing in for the eveing, I  suddenly noticed you could hear the verocious roar of the ocean, only 30m or so away from me.......it was a wonderfully safisfying moment, and I was suddenly very sad indeed to be setting my head down for second from last time in Aotearoa.

Finally after the longest day in history....it was time for some shut eye!

Another morning, myself and my travel buddy, Paul, finding ourselves with no fixed plans decided this time to venture north towards Wanaka.  Wanaka is another small town, set on a large lake of the same name where you can find a selection of cafes, resturants and shops, again with that distinct New Zealand charm.....I can never quite put my finger on it.   Now, there are two main routes; one route takes you via the town of Cromwell (the route by which we arrived by on our way through from Christchurch) and takes approx. 3 hours, the other route is half the distance in almost a straight line aireally but there is however, a mountain inbetween.  The Crown Range, as its known, is supposedly the highest public open road in the southern hemisphere and is without doubt an un-missable road trip when visiting Queenstown.   At the top of the peak there is the Cardrona Hotel, and despite not personally stopping in, I have heard it is worth a visit.  To be perfectly honest, there arent many places in this area that dont have spectacular views, but the Crown Range of course, offers some magnificent panoramic sights of the South Island in all its glory. 

The 17th saw the 22nd birthday of Kat - the girl I had come all this way to see.  Once again though, I was so disgracefully wasted that I still had large gaps in my memory of the evening.  I know we had a fantastic night a Chico's; I can say with all honestly I have never been anywhere else in the world and received the kind of treatment from others as I did in QT- In a good way I mean!!  Every single one of her companions or friends welcomed us with open arms, refused to let us pay for any drinks and demanded that we have a bloody fantastic night.  I do remeber being trapped by two Kiwi guys, two of Kats friends and being forced to neck a flaming black sambuca ( I was trying to get away as I dont like aniceed - so why wud I do sambuca's?  This concept either way was wasted on these nutters!)   The only other thing that stands strongly in my memory is that bloody awfall DJ in Chicos, which I believe was so bad, we eventually made the choice to move on to another bar. 

There are numerous drinking holes in QT - two of the most famous being Altitude and The World Bar.  Both these places are the definative commerical 'club'.  You are gareenteed to find these in every city of the world, the ones that play the 'right' music.  You know what I mean, the ones that pump out the classics - Faithless - Insomnia, Summer of 69, Cafe Del Mar- all hands in the air, im feelings happy and inspired kinda music.  They always seem to have a iconic drink too, like Malia's Fishbowls....well QT has Teapots.  Despite these Clubs ticking an adundance of boxes, I insist that you check out the other bars in town, as those are the ones with the real charm, the real ambiance and character....and most importantly, the Kiwis that make their country such a welcoming warm place.

Our fabulous hosts in Queenstown (much love to you Mike and kat!), unfortunalty had at some point during our stay, to go back to work during the day leaving us to our own devices.  So on the spare of the moment we decided to take a drive down south to Te Anau, a sleepy little Township, on the tourist map for its Glow Worm Caves and its Milford Sound Trips. (both of which you leave for by boat from thier dainty pier).  Unfortunately we didnt have the time or money to embark on a trip to Milford Sound, shame as supposedly it is one of NZ's greatist sights.....next time!

Sadly we missed the afternoon trip and had to wait until 7.30pm to get on the boat and set off, by which time it was fiercely dark, hence us missing some stunning scenery on the boat journey on the way to the caves.  Not to worry though, as the short walk through the caves upon arrival well made up for it.  I have actually visited the waitomo caves on the north island, and I must admit that I was not as impressed by the Te Anau set up as that of the Waitomo....BUT  the surrounding scenary definately kicks arse, and I would recommend it either way.  Sitting on a boat, in pitch black darkness, being led by only tiny ropes tided into the rock face is quite an experience.....especially when greeting by the glow of thousands of glow worms! 

Te Anau, minus the caves is still worth the drive.  Its so remote, quaint, friendly...spectacular..........hang on a minute, I think ive just descibed every town in New Zealand.... lol   (true though!!!)

Well, what can be said of Queenstown.....where would you possibily start? The adrenaline Junkies Paradise?  Too true...but just as exciting to those who dont wish to plumit 12,000f out of a plane like myself! You certainly dont have the chance to be bored with the abundance of water activities on the lake alone.  Then there is the skydiving, paragliding, bungejumping, skiing....I wont go on!

My favourite thing within the town was probably the Luge, a crazy race track at the top of the moutain which you reach via the gondola car  (a bit scary on its own!!).  You sit on these funny little plastic carts only a few inches from the ground then off you go, downhill round the track at a surprisingly fast pace.  My main problem was that the view is soooo fucking amazing from up there that I almost came off the track a few times whilst taking a cheeky glimpse!   So yeah.....dont do that

Our first main day spent in QT, we simply took in the sights; Kat, my host showed us around the town, and Chico's - a well known resturant in town where she works, and the evening was of course destined for celebrations! To be honest, I cant even remember the evening too well.....It must have been a good one!

After 3 long and frustrating flights (as by this time I was simply so excited and full of anxiety about our impending road trip). we arrived in Christchurch, my second visit to this very English location on the south Island.  To be honest, i was completely un-interested in spending anytime here, so we quickly contacted the hire car company so we could commence our mammoth journey to Queenstown...we were hoping the journey would take us no more than 5 hours, which I think we managed....and thankfully arrived at my friends house in Melbourne Street at around half 8 in the evening....neva have i been so pleased of a cup of brew and an extra long rollie!!!! 

Our route took us down through Chrischurch towards Ashburton, then Geraldine and Fairlie,  and then on to Lake Tekapo.  Here we stopped to fully enjoy the last of the winter daylight and our first stop to gawp in absolute awe at the draw-dropping mountainous scene that was growing feircer and feircer, with every mile driven in Queenstowns direction.  This was the point in fact when I exploded with excitement.  All of a sudden it was about the journey just as much, if not more, than the destination itself.  It was the moment when I allowed myself to relax for a moment knowing that my first soley organised trip had been worth all the chaos and frustration.  Looking across that lake at the mountains, I was on top of the world!

So I returned from Christchurch and had a couple of extra days in Auckland.  These days were miserable.  I caught some sort of slight cold, but it just basically made me listliss and I stayed in bed all day Monday.  I did start feeling better on Tues--they have meds you can't get in the states ;).  I had two roommates at the Albert Park Backpackers place that I was staying.  Ina was from Germany  and Yoshi was from Japan.   We had a good time.  Plus, Yoshi had a heater, which was clutch because as is everywhere else in NZ it was freezing there.  I was ready to get outta New Zealand.  With the cold and my illness I was just ready for a change of scenery.  Hopefully it's a lot warmer in Aus...I'll keep my fingers crossed at least.

Corn on the cob connoisseur here. {Obviously I also love alliteration}

I love it when my favorite foods are served so good in places you wouldn’t expect, like that bean burrito with tater tots in a mall in Victoria, British Columbia.

I had a top 10, but I’m sure that would be boring, so here’s the top 3

3 Jimmy’s Diner, Berlin

I don’t know how big corn is in Germany, but one of the double decker buses was completely plastered in corn kernels. Why can’t we get ads like that here? Anyhoo, After your first American-style burger in a month, this corn is so sweet it seems like dessert.

2 Some corn fair in the Midwest. . . Wisconsin?

Ranking has nothing to do with the redhead that served it to me, I swear. Or watching her roll up her sleeves and roughly guide it back and forth over a block of butter, swinging her arm so fast the camera couldn’t freeze it. Seriously, it was all about the taste. . .

1. Rotorua, NZ

Feeling hungry after the Maori show and eruption of the Kiwi version of Yellowstone’s Old Faithful--which I missed while in the restroom--I saw the sign signifying corn on the cob for one local dollar, and of course couldn’t resist. But where was it? There was only a woman sitting on a bucket. . . Oh no, please don’t tell me. . .

But no. Checking her watch, she stood up and grabbed a rope, then proceeded to haul up a bucket that had been dropped into a mini-geyser to cook. Incredulous, but also grinning, I bit gingerly into the corn and found my taste buds literally dancing. Before I had taken a second bite I ordered two more, so no one else could get them and I wouldn’t have to wait for the next bucket to be lowered.

Corn on the cob connoisseur here. {Obviously I also love alliteration} I love it when my favorite foods are served so good in places you wouldn’t expect, like that bean burrito with tater tots in a mall in Victoria, British Columbia. I had a top 10, but I’m sure that would be boring, so here’s the top 3 3 Jimmy’s Diner, Berlin I don’t know how big corn is in Germany, but one of the double decker buses was completely plastered in corn kernels. Why can’t we get ads like that here? Anyhoo, After your first American-style burger in a month, this corn is so sweet it seems like dessert. 2 Some corn fair in the Midwest. . . Wisconsin? Ranking has nothing to do with the redhead that served it to me, I swear. Or watching her roll up her sleeves and roughly guide it back and forth over a block of butter, swinging her arm so fast the camera couldn’t freeze it. Seriously, it was all about the taste. . . 1. Rotorua, NZ Feeling hungry after the Maori show and eruption of the Kiwi version of Yellowstone’s Old Faithful--which I missed while in the restroom--I saw the sign signifying corn on the cob for one local dollar, and of course couldn’t resist. But where was it? There was only a woman sitting on a bucket. . . Oh no, please don’t tell me. . . But no. Checking her watch, she stood up and grabbed a rope, then proceeded to haul up a bucket that had been dropped into a mini-geyser to cook. Incredulous, but also grinning, I bit gingerly into the corn and found my taste buds literally dancing. Before I had taken a second bite I ordered two more, so no one else could get them and I wouldn’t have to wait for the next bucket to be lowered.

Na 4 weken te hebben doorgebracht in een Camper met de nodige gebreken was dit een geschenk uit de hemel. Een vreselijk vriendelijke ontvangst en een geweldige kamer met badkamer. Ook het restaurant was van zeer goede kwaliteit net als het personeel dat erg vriendelijk en vrolijk was. We zijn hier als vorsten behandelt terwijl we er niet al te deftig bij liepen. (we hadden tenslotte een campervakantie achter de rug) Een absolute aanrader als afsluiting van een geweldige vakantie!

i got up at 5.18am to get ready for skiing. the last time i got up this early was to catch a flight to go to melbourne. got up, checked facebook and travbuddy, had breakfast got dressed... this little routine takes me 2 hours but it only takes my cousins half an hour, i really don't know how they do it! packed our gear into the car and dad drove us to meet the others. when we got there we saw only two people, they came to the car and told us the trip was cancelled due to the rough winds. i was absolutely guttered, i really wanted to go skiing today. oh well i suppose hot german skiing instructor will have to wait! hopefully we can go next weekend, but i hate changing times with my students, but we'll see.
so we went back home again, dad said we shouldn't waste this lovely day so after repacking our things and returning the gear we went for a drive towards amberley as there was meant to be some farmer's market that's meant to appeal to touristy people like my cousins! unfortunately we were disappointed again... these markets aren't open in winter, screw this crappy weather! i swear winter in asia and in europe are so much better! so we carried on driving to Gore's Bay. it was bloody windy but we managed to take some lovely photos :) you really got the wind in your hair feel! after failing to skim rocks we decided to find the biggest one and just throw it in the wee pond thingy, it was more fun and easier this way! we then went to some campsite, which we were not suppose to be on! and we had our sushi and rice balls for lunch.
after lunch we went back to amerberly to the vineyards. on the way there we saw some sheep, actually we saw sheep everywhere. i live in the country where humans are outnumbered by sheep! but no it was a wee farm land and we could parked our car by the roadside. they also sold honey there so my dad went in and bought a bottle while my cousin, my mom and i were out there taking photos of the sheep. it was all fun and games until the sheep stuck his head out through the fence and tried to eat my cousin's foot! it was hilarious!
we eventually got to the vineyard and it was time to drinnnnnnnk i tasted everything. my favorite were the main divide sauvie and the riesling which smelt very floral! we were going to stay there for more drinks but they didn't have a table to accommodate us so after some more gay photos we headed back via oxford. i slept most of the way as i was absolutely knackered. just before we got to christchurch i think we stopped at this little tearoom/cafe/restaurant place in a wee town called sheffield! and i though that name looks familiar! it was a lovely place and the food was great. although the herbs are deadly haha! well there was a bit of a rosemary choking incident, but i am ok, i managed to cough it out!
we finally got home at around half four and everyone was knackered as hell! and despite not being able to go skiing we had a fun day!

So, after meeting the two Aussies,  Kev and Chris, it was decided that we wanted to go down to Christchurch and go snowboarding.  I had a little internal struggle because I still had a day left on the hostel I was staying in, and I didn't want to squander that.  Additionally, I was going to have to buy an unanticipated plane ticket to get down to the south island.   After some consideration I decided to roll of course.  Two reasons prevailed: a) everyone has been telling me that the south island of New Zealand is better anyway, and b) the whole point of this trip is to be open and up for whatever. Consequently, I bought the ticket, packed my stuff and was on a plane within about a 4 hour span.

We got to Christchurch and it was late and cold.  Fortunately, Kev knew someone who lives there so we got picked up from the airport.  The first night we just hit the hay and was uneventful.

The next night was different.  We went out to get something to eat, then hit an Irish pub.   I had like three beers and I just could not hang.  I don't know what it was (jet lag maybe) but I had to tap out at about midnight because I COULD NOT keep my eyes open.   Plus we were supposed to be going snowboarding the next day anyway, so I needed my rest.  Somehow I woke up at about 3am and Kev and Chris weren't back yet.  I thought this was strange, but I rolled back over and went to sleep.  Mind you we have to catch a 7am bus to the mountain in the morning.  I woke up again at about 530: still no sign of these cats.  That's when I started to worry.  I thought either one of them died or that they both got locked up.  Believe it or not I jumped into a cab and commenced a search.  I started at the hospital and then finished at the police station.  No dice on either.  Now it's 645 and I decide to head back to the room.   Lo and behold, they were there, and they had seen me jump into a cab, but were too drunk to stop me.   Needless to say, they smelled like a distillery all the way up to the mountain and most of the morning, and was equally worthless at snowboarding.   Kev was too hungover to roll.

By the afternoon, Chris had sobered up and it shaped up to be a great time.  The south island is definitely better than the north and I highly recommend it.   Keep an eye out for my Kiwi/Aussie translation blog because it is definitely a different language.   Next stop: back to Auckland...