Gardens at Lanarch Castle
Cadbury Factory
We headed to Dunedin from Wellington. We decided to fly as the trip on ferry/bus would've taken ages. Dunedin is a pretty cool little town. Full of history as it New Zealand's oldest city. We had a hotel room by the ocean, which was amazing. The hotel room though was more like a apartment from the early 1900's, renovated of course. I liked it a lot, but mom and Aunty had expected something completely different so it took them a day or two to get used to it. We were up early the next morning to head down to the Cadbury factory for a factory tour. Luckily, we got in as it was quite busy. It was a pretty cool tour and we scored a ton of chocolate, which is what I need I'm sure. My mom and Aunt also bought about a years worth to bring home, because chocolate is so hard to find in Canada ;). That afternoon we visited the Lanarch Castle. This castle began construction in 1871. William Lanarch built this castle for his first wife, who died shortly after. The castle was beautiful, creepy, but beautiful. Lanarch ended up killing himself after his third wife was suspected of having an affair with his son. There is some strange history behind this castle and that made it all more intriguing. Apparently Ghostbusters (tv show) just did a episode on the castle and it should air soon. They said that they found a man roaming around, possibly William Lanarch...who knows!! The lady who bought the castle in the 60's I believe, is still dedicating her time to the garden and renovations and just recently moved out of the castle although she still owns it. She must be off to have bought it in the first place, really! I loved the castle, absolutely loved it. Aunty and mom got a good chuckle because I was quite freaked out in the house with all the ghost stories that were told to us, but it was my aunt that couldn't sleep that night thinking of Lanarch and all the strange history in that house, it didn't help that we were sleeping in a lovely but creepy apartment/hotel.
Our next stop was Queenstown. Queenstown is New Zealand's version of Banff. A skiing town, very transient and lively for being so small. Nestled in the mountains, this place was so picturesque and comforting as it reminded me of home. We did a lot of walking here. The weather was pretty warm. Mom, Aunty and I decided to do a wine tour as this area is great for the vineyards. This for me was most interesting as mom and Aunty don't drink. I thought for sure I may have to carry them out, although I did wonder who would carry me out. Sure enough, very little food in us and we hit the wine before we ate. I'm sure that they both felt the booze, I know I did! The vineyards were awesome, the wine was great and we shared a ton of laughs that afternoon, nothing to do with the wine of course. We spent a few days here and safe to say we all had a great time.
After a 8 hour bus ride, we arrived in Christchurch. We decided to spend 6 days here as we have been on the move so much lately that everyone needed to chill for a bit. Christchurch is a great city and we are enjoying it very much. Although my least favorite city we have visited so far, it's still great. Well, we have been making the most of it. We have been walking heaps. We visited the amazing Christchurch art gallery, markets galore, mom and I visited the Oranga Zoo which was pretty cool and soon it will be the start of Buskers week where Buskers (street performers) from all over the world come to perform. So it's quite lively here right now. We went to a hilarious play last night called "Le Cage aux Folles". It is the same script as "The Birdcage" with Robin Williams. It was so funny, one of the best plays I've ever seen. Today we took a day trip to Kaikoura, having no idea what this town was like or what we could do there. It turned out to be amazing. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed some much needed beach time as well as Albatross watching. Albatrosses are the largest sea birds in the world with an average wing span of 3.5 metres. We we lucky to see quite a few up close, as we had food in a bag hanging off the back of the boat. That food attracted a lot of birds, luckily we didn't get shit on. Our skipper did throw some food into the water but wasn't able to get it out as far as he wanted and water and whatever else splashed up and landed right in Aunty's mouth...it was quite the moment!! We were so lucky to witness a pod of dolphins up close. What an amazing experience and I'm so glad mom and Aunty were able to see them before they leave!
The next day we plan to have no plans and see what's going on in the city as it's our last day together. My New Zealand trip is coming to an end. This is always a sad time when travelling and made worse because I am having to say goodbye to my Aunty and my Mom. I am heading back to Melbourne in hopes of finding a job and making somewhat of a life there for myself for a few months. It may not pan out and I may be home in a month. If it does work out, I am not sure when I'll return.
I've had the most amazing time with my Mom and Aunt. We have laughed so much and so hard at times that we cried. They have both been the breathe of fresh air I was in need of and it's going to be hard to say goodbye.
Write soon!!
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