The Otago Peninsula and Larnach Castle

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We set off in the morning, with the promise of sunny but brisk autumn weather, to the Otago Peninsula. After travelling along the harbour, we took a narrow road, surrounded by cliffs to the Larnach Castle - New Zealand's only castle, built in 1871. Of course, this 'castle' was more of a large estate home than the castles found across Europe. Not only did we explore all the handcrafted rooms of this lavish estate but we also wandered through the beautifully shaded gardens, full of swans, flowers and sculptures. One of my favourite plants that I encountered was the 'black grass' - I like it's macabre appearance. After a spot of tea by the fireplace in the cafe, Sarah and I played between the Alice and Wonderland statues and sat in the Queen of Heart's chair. Following our historical encounters, we traveled along the Otago Peninsula to the blue penguin sanctuary where we waited for the arrival of the blue penguins and the yellow-eyed penguins. Sadly we didn't get any good views of the blue penguins but one of the yellow-eyed penguins was keen to have his picture taken.

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