Cruise The World With Us

Sunday – March 9, 2025

Today we had the privelege to see the most photographed building in New Zealand and the second most photographed building in the Southern hemisphere – the Dunedin Railway Station. Sydney opera house holds the title for first most photographed building in the Southern hemisphere. The railway station no longer handles daily traffic – with the exception of a run now and then to Port Charles. The station was the first stop on the excursion we took today in Dunedin.

Dunedin does have a port but the channel to that port is not capable of handling ships with tonnage above 25,000. MSC Magnifica is 95,000 so it must dock at Port Charles a few miles from Dunedin. Today’s media includes a time lapse of our ship coming to dock. Also included with today’s media is a photo of a sign warning us not to bring items ashore that might affect New Zealand plant and animal life. Bringing such item to shore is subject to a fine of $400 NZ. We hear a recording of that message at each port we visit and placards are placed on all the dining room tables.

As we left the ship today for our excursion we saw large stacks of pine lumber waiting for export as we have at Christchurch and Tauranga. Lumber is one of the top exports in dollars. Brian was our guide today. He is a retired insurance salesman who enjoys telling people the history of Dunedin. He did not, however, like having to split his time with an interpreter from the ship who repeated what he said for those who spoke Chinese. He wasn’t aware he would be required to do that and felt his passengers did not receive some of the history he wanted to share.

As we drove from Port Charles to Dunedin we followed a train that ran along the shore of the bay. We came close but never seemed to catch it. The train was on the way to our first stop of the day – the Dunedin Railway Station. You can see the train in the second video clip of our drive to Dunedin. There is a screenshot of our position as we followed the road to Dunedin. By the way, Dunedin is the sixth largest city in New Zealand following Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Hamilton and Tauranga.

On the drive in Brian gave us the history of the station and its restoration. Bricks with the names of donors were placed in the paving area with those giving the largest donations closest to the station. Brian noted that with the large Scottish population in Dunedin, many of the bricks were located far from the station. We hadn’t looked at photos of the station before taking the excursion so when it came into view it was quite inspiring. Brian likened the appearance to that of a gingerbread house.

At the station Jan and Kelsey explored on ground floor and the platform by the tracks while I hiked upstairs. The restoration of the station has been quite good. The many half inch square tiles in the floor make a nice pattern when viewed from above and the stained glass windows bring color to that high ceiling area. On the platform are train cars from various eras of service. Brian said the platform area is at least a kilometer in length (over 3,200 feet) or about 10 average city blocks in the US.

After ample time to explore the station we boarded our bus to take the drive to Larnach Castle – the only castle in New Zealand. On the way we passed an unusual sculpture on the shore of Otago Harbor – Harbor Mouth Molars – a set of molar teeth which in part acknowledges the dental college in Dunedin – the only dental college in New Zealand. You’ll find those teeth in a video clip and as a still in today’s media. Also along the way we stopped at Brian’s favorite spot to view Otago Harbor. I must agree with Brian that the spot he likes I also like – and the weather cooperated with clouds to add to the blue sky.

As with the railway station, we really didn’t know what to expect when the castle came into view. It isn’t the type of castle you see at Disney World with many turrets and flags flying. It is more like the castle we saw in Inverness, Scotland – which makes sense since Larnach was a Scot. At the castle we were met by a guide for the castle tour – John. You’ll find his photo in today’s media. John gave us so much info I didn’t even try to keep track of it all. The link above will give you many of the things he explained to us. Room by room I’ll try to convey whatever stuck with me as unique or interesting.

We began the tour by walking upstairs to the area surrounding the main floor rooms. When the castle was constructed this area was an open porch. Larnach’s wife and her half sister having spent the Winter in the building said that it was too cold outside during Winter on the porch. Acting on this Larnach had the porch area enclosed with touri wood flooring and windows all around. So when you are in this area you also see external stone as you turn away from the windows.

We moved into what they theorize was a billiard room. If you read any history concerning William Larnach you know he lost his fortune (and shot himself). After that the castle changed hands several times – was even used to house sheep during World War II. The furnishings were sold and scattered sometimes far from Dunedin. The current owners when restoring the castle sought and found many of the original furnishings. This is true of the chandelier in the billiard room. I believe there were 1,500 pieces in all that they found and brought back to have reassembled into the chandelier you see in the photos of this room. Also notice the elaborate ceiling woodwork here and throughout the castle. Larnach hired a man and his son – both skilled carpenters – to be on staff to fashion wood products he felt were needed for the castle. This included the ceilings, paneling and furniture. This room contained an original Edison phonograph and a black marble fireplace with ornate mantle clock. It also had a glass container in which were several species of birds preserved by taxidermy.

We walked through a hallway into the dining room. Ornate ceiling, another black marble fireplace with mantle clock. You may also notice a photograph hanging on the wall with a round mirror below it. The photograph was taken when Larnach and his family were moving into the castle. There are no windows in the porch area nor any trees on the property. The mirror below is called a butler’s mirror. In those days it was not polite for the “help” to look people in the eyes so this was a way for the butler (who stood at the back of the room opposite the mirror) to see the expressions on the diners faces and give cues to the help stationed around the room.

Our next room was the ladies parlor. Ornate ceiling, light marble fireplace with mantle clock and a fireplace screen. This screen was used to protect the ladies’ facial makeup. In those days it was thought proper to have a white color on the face. To accomplish that, women applied wax. If they came too close to a fire the wax would soften and run. The fireplace screen allowed the women to warm themselves but shield their faces. Larnach’s second wife had the servants wrap the coal with tissue paper so she could reach into the coal bucket and put coal on the fire without becoming dirty. That way the “help” didn’t need to be in the room when the ladies were gossiping!

The next area was the spot where guests would be greeted as they came up the front steps and entered the house. The wall facing the front door has four panels that reflect the ancestry of Larnach and his wife – English, Irish, Scotch and Welsh. The walls and ceiling are wood covered with an intricate design on the ceiling. The floor carried Larnach’s coat of arms and his name for the area where the castle was erected – The Camp. John said that anyone entering this room would realize they were dealing with someone special – whether he actually was or just thought of himself that way (Larnach).

From the entry area we walked to the men’s smoking room. Among other things it contained a photo of Larnach’s family in San Francisco on their way to England. The photo shows Larnach, his pregnant wife, four of his six children, his wife’s half sister and two unidentified women (probably a teacher and nurse accompanying for the journey to England). This was the end of the guided tour so John left and we were on our own to explore the castle and grounds.

Kelsey and I climbed the stairs to the next level, found one of the bedrooms and looked at the views from those windows. We saw a nice view of the bay, the front lawn and the garden area. We decided to take a look at the garden so climbed down several sets of stairs and went to the flower garden. Kelsey posed for a photo with some of the more colorful varieties.

Our bus had pulled up in front so I snapped a couple quick shots of the side and front of the castle. While at the back of the bus I noticed an unusual pattern in the grill covering the engine area. The pattern was kiwis. I looked at other buses and then noticed they had the same design so it must be a “thing” for that brand of bus.

I’ve included a couple clips of the drive from Larnach Castle to Dunedin. In one you can see the Pacific Ocean from on top of the cliff road. Other clips show housing and businesses. There is even a short clip with railroad engines labeled “Kiwi Rail”. Brian wanted to be able to show us the University of Otago but the two times we tried for a parking spot they were all taken. He said that some of the buildings are modeled after and look like buildings in Edinburgh. He decided to take us to Dunedin Botanical Gardens.

We took several selfies with a variety of flowers at the gardens and many photos of different flowers. Some even include bees busy pollinating and gathering pollen. We didn’t have time to see all the gardens and I’m sure we could have spent a couple more hours there without becoming bored.

We returned to the ship. Included in the media are a couple clips taken after the gardens and a couple screenshots that show where we were on the way back in relation to Larnach Castle and where the ship was docked at Port Chalmers. We made it in time for lunch in the dining room and Jan ordered a stir fry entree that looked and tasted good – so we included a photo. Following lunch I set up the camera to take a time lapse of the container handlers near us. It turned out to be a time lapse of our sail away from Port Chalmers.

Dinner tonight was a celebration of New Zealand so there was a platter decorated for the occasion. Several of the things we ate are shown in media.

This evening the show was a group we have not seen. They are called The Tap Pack. They come from Australia and they both sing and dance. You’ll find plenty of clips from their performance and I believe you will agree that some of their footwork is amazing. I think they will be performing at least one more time and, if so, we will be looking forward to it.

Tomorrow we spend a couple hours cruising Milford Sound. From what we have heard, that is a very picturesque area so there should be plenty of photos/videos.

Click here to view today’s video and photos.