The Catlins

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After a surprisingly good sleep in the Larnach Castle stables, we cleaned up in the shared showering facilities (not exactly the Four Seasons) and took on a “cooked breakfast” (in the English sense). Even after several weeks in this country, I am still unable to fully embrace the cooked breakfast concept which most often involves rather more grease than would appear to be healthy. Surprisingly for a Castle, there was no espresso machine. I made do with a plunger coffee which provided the necessary caffeine without resort to instant which would of course have been intolerable.

Before departing the Castle, we took the Tour. The place is certainly grand but not on the scale of other “castles” (it has only three main bedrooms). The finishing details (carvings, stained glass, tiling, wood and stone work) are what really stand out. There was a very interesting outbuilding which I was told was the remains of a methane plant. The fecal refuse of the castle inhabitants (animals and people) were used to create methane which was in turn used for lighting in the castle. I didn’t envy the plant manager.

The balance of the day was spent in the Catlins on the scenic route from Dunedin to Invercargill - the most southern major city in New Zealand and home to the most southern Starbucks location in the world. The area is covered by wildlife filled bays and isolated forests. The road is filled with classic New Zealand twists, turns and narrow sections. At Curio Bay we spotted yellow eyed penguins on the deserted beach and there were fur seals playing in the rocks at Nugget Point. We stopped and walked to Purakauni Falls located in a dense rain forest and ended up at Slope Point, the southern most point of the South Island. To get to Slope Point requires a fair hike through pasture land. It was raining hard and the wind was strong. Josh and I were the only fools to press on toward the coast and the marker officially denoting Slope Point. On the cliffs above the ocean, the wind was howling and spray from the sea pounding the rocks 50 metres below was blown into our faces with force. It was very dramatic. I felt like a CNN reporter in a hurricane having to brace myself to keep upright.

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Photos

Slope Point
Josh hangs onto the marker to avoid being blown into the sea

Comments

[Aunty Irene]

Most southern Starbucks
Do they really mark the most southern Starbucks in the world? That's the Americans for you. Proud of everything. I'm glad you are getting enough milk. Aunty Irene