Dunedin

Left the little town of Portobello and headed into the city centre to Dunedin, stopping on the way to Lanarch Caste – New Zealand’s only castle. Some rich banker bought the land and built a castle to impress his first wife. Sounded like his plan didn’t work, however, as he ended up with three wives and some very strange family relationships. The story has it that the second wife is a ghost that now roams the castle! Anyway, the grounds were very beautiful – lovely gardens with different themes in each section. A family bought run-down castle in the 1960’s and have restored it over many years. After gardens and ballrooms, we headed to the Cadbury Factory – the girls had been waiting for this for a few months! We went on the tour and leant how the chocolate is made and tasted lots of chocolate and came out with a whole bag of goodies with the famous NZ chocolate fish and Pinkie bars! Headed into the centre and saw the lovely churches and architecture and the famous Railway Station. The place was alive with the Scottish themes in lots of shop windows, the pubs were busy with whisky-drinking students and we enjoyed the sunshine and the beautiful city of Dunedin. Headed to a camping ground just 2kms from the city centre where the kids were happy to find a heated pool, a trampoline and a great play area!Read more