Welcome to Dunedin

 12/02/24

Dunedin-ite, Am I Right?

It's crazy to think that I have been living in this beautiful country for a little over five months now. From Christchurch, to Rakiura, to Wellington, to the Northlands (and many more!), I feel like I am finally starting to get used to being in this unique space. I even automatically move to the left side of the sidewalk now! From the moments of awe to the moments of homesickness, it has been a real joy to share all these new places, activities and people. Have I reached annoying travel blogger level yet? If so, TOO BAD! I'M GONNA KEEP BLOGGING HAHAHAHAHA!

So here's the latest with TaylorTravelz! 

The Ballad of a Jobless Traveler (Who Desperately Needs A Job)

After my failed sheep shed experience, arriving in Dunedin was a bit of a whirlwind. I was lucky to snatch one of the last bus tickets out of the tiny town of Lawrence, and find a reasonable hostel to house me for up to four days in Dunedin. My current plan was to find a job and a place to live: ideally all before that four days was up. This is a tall order with a very short timeline. Once I arrived,  I added the epic bird camp to my CV, put on my best "get things done" music and began applying like my life depended on it (cause it kind of did). 

I woke up the next morning in the beautiful Manor House Backpackers with a new found sense of motivation. I was going old school.  After my CV was printed, I found myself pacing up and down the streets of Dunedin dishing out my resumes to pizza shops, office supply stores, and supermarkets. I was a mad man on a mission. I thought I'd get snatched up right away. That first day I explored so much of the inner city. It was wonderful to enjoy some of the sights of Dunedin like the Octagon, the Anzac Square Gardens and even pop my head into a few of the art galleries. It was a Saturday morning, so after I was out of CVs I stumbled across the Dunedin Farmer's Market. It reminded me so much of the Missoula market; I almost cried tears of joy bringing my newly purchased bottled milk back to the hostel. I was excited to spend time here (that is if I could get a job). 

Upon my return, I started to look into the different tourist-y things to do in Dunedin. I had been dying to go to the Royal Albatross Center, the world's largest mainland albatross colony, and Larnach's Castle, New Zealand's only castle! In my ambitious frenzy of job hunt and exploration, I decided to put out a posting on the backpackers page to see if anyone would want to go to the colony in the next few days. Then, I booked myself a tour of Larnach castle. Since there is no public transport to either of those locations, I had to be creative. 

Day 2 and Day 3 of the job search continued. At this point, I had applied to upwards of 30 jobs from online to in person applications with not a single interview or click on my online application. I was beginning to feel a bit defeated on the job front, but was lucky enough to have found a place to stay for the time being! Remember Ihāpera from my wwoofing family? Her apartment was actively unoccupied until school semester started in late February! After a few message exchanges she kindly allowed me to stay here for a small rent while I looked for a longer term place. Centrally located and cozy, it is absolutely perfect! 1 out of 2 problems solved! I felt much better knowing that I would have a place to live, and would now be able to direct my job search to somewhere nearby. I continued to apply and apply and apply, but now it felt a bit like a waiting game. 

Larnach's Castle is Definitely Haunted

On my fourth morning in Dunedin, I was to check out of the hostel, move into Ihāpera's house and go on the Larnach castle tour. The morning was stormy and ominous, but I was so eager to go to this magnificent architectural feat by this volcano in New Zealand. I checked out of the hostel (they kindly held onto my belongings as I went), and prepared to go on this elaborate castle tour. I had anticipated to go on a tour with a ton of other travelers, but was pleasantly surprised when I was picked up by Kim from IconicTours. The rest of the passengers had canceled due to bad weather but that meant I got the coolest castle private tour! We started by driving around the city and then moved on to Baldwin St, the world's steepest street! Here is a photo of me on top of this record-winning road (it was steeeeeep)! 

After Baldwin Street, we went to Larnach's tomb. Constructed by architect Robert Arthur Lawson after the death of Larnach's first wife Eliza, this beautiful tomb was inspired by Dunedin's first church. The tomb was recently renovated with Oamaru stone and imported stained glass from France after severe vandalization. Inside the tomb lies his first wife Eliza, his second wife Mary (Eliza's sister), his eldest daughter Kate, his son Donald, and William Larnach himself. His third wife, Constance is buried in Wellington. All the girls died of sickness or blood poisoning. Donald and William on the other hand both committed suicide. I'll fill you in on the family lore shortly. 

The drive up the castle was incredible. In an effort to choose where this magnificent building would be located, William challenged Donald to find the very tallest tree on the mountain. He claimed that would be the spot the castle would be built. And so he did (with an army of help of course). 

 

Outside of the castle were a myriad of roses, plants and trees of all shapes and sizes. Most of these botanicals had been imported, except a few native stand outs, like the northern rata, rimu, and ferns. We started the castle tour with a bit of family history. William immigrated to New Zealand from Australia with his wife Eliza in 1867. 

"Larnach's first wife Eliza Guise, had six children - Donald, Douglas, Kate, Colleen, Alice and Gladys.  Eliza died at the age of 38 when Gladys was still a baby.  Larnach then married Eliza's half sister Mary Alleyne.  They were married for 5 years when sadly Mary also died at the age of 38.  Larnach then married a much younger lady, Constance de Bathe Brandon." (https://www.larnachcastle.co.nz/Visitor-Information-for-Larnach-Castle/Visit-Larnach-Castle/Early-History for more info). 

 Constance, or Connie, was 35 when she married 58 year old William Larnach. After Kate (Larnach's eldest daughter) passed that same year, William and most of the children started to spend a lot of time away from the castle. It is speculated that Douglas (William's youngest son) and Connie had an affair during this time. Upon William's discovery of this, he killed himself. To add to the drama, William was severely in debt due to the fall out of the bank, and the matters of the estate were put into the hands of the surviving children and Connie. While Constance and Douglas fought to keep the castle, the other children fought to sell it. This resulted in a significant legal battle over who would keep the castle. Eventually, no one won, and the castle was sold to the highest bidder after Donald (eldest son) committed suicide. With the expenses it took to maintain the castle, it went through several other owners. Some of the most interesting uses for the castle include: a hospital for veterans, a sheep barn and an asylum. If you are interested on the many uses of the castle check out the website: https://www.larnachcastle.co.nz/Visitor-Information-for-Larnach-Castle/Visit-Larnach-Castle/Intervening-Years. There is also a highly rated historical novel inspired by this story called The Larnach's by New Zealand author Owen Marshall. Connie is thought to haunt the castle to this day. 

 With whole ceilings imported and hand carved by the Godfrey family, the interior of the castle screamed gothic rich family. My favorite part of the ceilings were the little animals they included in the carvings and eagle like gargoyles at the front of the castle. I'm also a sucker for some nice tilework, so I took particular notes to these little camp cats. Connie's room definitely had a haunted creepy feel to it.  Despite all the incredible design, the view from the tower was still the most stunning part. 

After the tour, Kim and I had a lovely cocoa in the ballroom and headed back down the hill. It was quite the day!

The Long-Awaited Royal Albatross

After coming to Dunedin in November without seeing a single albatross, I was so so excited I had another opportunity to see the largest mainland albatross colony in the WORLD at Taiaroa Head. I even got extra lucky as the day I arrived was just after the birth of a baby chick! I'll link the Cornell livestream cam here so you can see the cute baby : https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-releases/2024-media-releases/royal-cam-albatross-toroa-chick-hatches-at-pukekura-taiaroa-head/. 

I yet again used the backpackers page to find a traveling bird lover named Ally who could drive us to the colony! It happened to be his birthday, so we had red velvet cupcakes on the way for a nice sweet treat! The tour started with an explanation of why albatross are super cool (I already knew this of course), but once we got outside I was blown away at the wingspan of these glorious birds. The albatross were beautifully soaring above us as we made way to the viewing center. Needless to say, I was absolutely mesmerized. The tour we booked also came with a fun add on of the military history at the site so we got to see this big gun that was never used. Very happy I finally got to see these magnificent birds. Their wings fold in so cool!

Daily Life in Dunedin

 I managed to get a job after a week of handing out my resume to any employer who would listen. I just finished up training at my new job as a housekeeper at Quest and love it. I have really awesome co-workers and I regularly get free groceries from the travelers who leave their food behind. In addition, I got tons of local tips on where to explore in Dunedin including the Tūhura Otago Museum (complete with a butterfly center), the Dunedin Botanical Gardens, the local op shops and even some good hikes! On my days off, I do my best to get out on the town and make the most of this incredible city. I also joined an all-women's gym in town and it has pilates three times a week which is a dream come true. 

One of the coolest spots I made it out to has got to be Tunnel Beach. The beach itself seems simple, but you have to go through a tunnel to get to it! It's magical because it is only accessible at low tide. I was lucky enough to explore it on a day where I had a hearty amount of beach. Check it out!

Here are a few other favorites from the last few weeks! 

In order of appearance: 

1) Dunedin Botanical Gardens

2) Lunar New Year Festival

3) Butterfly Gardens!

4) Pineapple Track

5) Tūhura Otago Museum 

I am so excited for what the future holds here. Welcome to Dunedin everyone! 

Bonus: Mt Cook/Aoraki and Lake Tekapo/Pukaki

Soooo, I definitely went to Mt Cook in my Christchurch days, but unfortunately have not found the time to post about it. It was a crazy cool spot though so it deserves its time to shine. I'm happy to finally give it the moment it deserves right now!

I booked this day trip after I got back from Stewart Island and I am so glad I did! We took a bus to the West Coast and I had a lovely time chatting with other travelers on board. Our first stop was Tekapo where I saw my first great-crested grebe but had to pee so bad I couldn't get a good photo. To this day, this is the ONLY bathroom I've ever encountered in New Zealand that had a pay bathroom. I peed behind the stall and got a photo of the lake. Sue me. 

After Tekapo, we stopped by Pukaki to stretch our legs. I think I am spoiled for lakes in Montana because quite honestly I felt these were quite average lakes. The real show stopper was the mountains and glacial lakes later on in the day. Once we arrived, my jaw dropped. I have never seen water so blue. 

At this point in the tour, we were allowed to hike the paths on our own. I scrambled up those rocks to be sure I was seeing the blue correctly. Yes, it was just THAT blue. I didn't see any icebergs in the lake, but I did catch my first New Zealand Falcon calling above me. By the end of the hikes, I was ready to go home. I slept on the bus back feeling like a true explorer.