New Zealand Day 3

We had another busy day in New Zealand.  Here are today’s photos:

Sunrise from our room at Larnach Lodge.
Our first daylight look at the Larnach Castle before we toured the grounds. The estate is divided into several themed gardens.
Carol under the pergola. It was a bit colder today, thus the warmer jackets.
Carrie by the reflecting pool.
All of us on top of the castle roof.
The view to the northeast, over the South Seas garden.
The view to the north from the same spot.
The 3 Cs take in the view from the South Seas Belvedere.
A final view of the South Seas garden, including a glimpse of the Larnach Lodge in the upper right corner.
On our way to lunch we found this dog blocking the door to the cafe. It turned out to be Fern, the family dog of the Castle’s current owners.
We spotted this butterfly in the main flower garden.
This was also in the main flower garden.
Chris and Carrie were happy to try out the throne at the entrance to the Temperate Rainforest garden.
The Lost Rock Garden had many interesting and pretty flowers including this one…
…and these…
…and these.
These lone flowers were in a section called the Field.
Chris and Carrie played ring around the rosy in the Field. This is just before the happy play turned to out of control (as it inevitability does).
This was the last flower we photographed. Its petals were white from above…
…but had purple highlights underneath.
Late in the afternoon we went to a Yellow Eyed Penguin conservation reserve. We went on a 90 minute walking tour where we got to watch these endangered penguins emerge from ocean and return to their nests for the night. There is actually a penguin hidden in the cover of the bushy growth just to the left of center.
Three seals came ashore to rest while we were walking down to the nesting areas.
This little guy hasn’t quite finished molting and has been living off his fat stores fore about three to four weeks. Only when his new feathers are ready will he head back to the ocean to feed.
This one has just returned from the ocean and is walking to his nest.
On the way back to Larnach Lodge we watched the sun set across Otago Harbour.
After the penguin reserve, we returned to the castle for a formal dinner. The music room was transformed to accommodate many of the guests staying at the lodge.
These two deserts are a great way to end the day at Larnach Castle!

Comments are closed.