A castle in NZ

 February 8th

To all freedom campers out there I should have mentioned that the Te Rauone Reserve at Harington Point is a responsible camping spot and not just for self contained vehicles. At first glance you would think it just a car park as no signage up whatsoever. But as you pass Portobello, a road sign states that freedom camping is allowed at any hard standing car park unless otherwise stated. It also has a flush toilet nearby and with the road a 'no exit' this meant very little traffic to keep us awake. It was the ideal spot to stay after the tour at the Albatross centre. No photo, I was going to take it this morning but it clean went out of my head.

By 8.30 am we had left. The road to Larnach Castle was along the same scenic route taken yesterday. Although it doesn't advise the larger vehicle to attempt the road, it is actually okay with care. There are some narrow sections and a lot of windy bits but the views from the top are spectacular and a shame to miss just because you're big!

 

Larnach Castle had been decided on because of the Heritage statues. Some places have an agreement with English Heritage and National Trust to honour the member's free entry and as members of both, we were interested to see if this was the case. Unfortunately not here but we did get an $18 discount for being 'early birds'.

The path to the castle was through these lovely trees.

 

We have been to many historic houses in the UK and this one was well above our expectation. Nearly all the furniture in the house was original having been bought back by auction over the years. Check out the early history HERE

It is now owned by the Barker Family. The modern history can be read about HERE 

Unbeknown to us, we actually met the owners. A large and what looked to be extremely heavy chest was being brought up the magnificent large spiral staircase.  At the top was a chap who asked us to wait a few minutes and then told us he felt lucky to give the hard work to others.We thought him the foreman!

It was a beautifully carved wooden chest with the initials W. L (William Larnach) at the back confirming this was one of the original pieces of furniture. It was placed in a bedroom opposite, and apart from those having carried it upstairs, a lady of later years. also stood chatting.

Turns out this was Margaret Baker and the chap was her son Norcombe who is now the Executive director of the estate. Ian and Norcombe chatted about antiques and the disadvantages of today's flat pack furniture discovering screws left over after completion. We actually only realised they were the owners when we watched a video down on the ground floor and saw a photo of the family propped on a table..

 

Margaret Baker in the middle with Norcombe next to her. I believe the lady to the left is her daughter.

Anyway here are some of the photos of this magnificent house and gardens.

This made us look again at the lights and chandelier

Methane Plant

You might be wondering what Ian was doing lying on his back. Well it was all because my camera could not get the whole glass roof of the Cupola (glass dome) so it required a bit of thought on how to use his phone to get the photo! Quite what other people may have made of this man lying prostrate on the ground, was anyone's guess.

In the Queen of Hearts chair (Alice in Wonderland)

Talking of which, in the leaflet it mentioned the Cheshire Cat was somewhere in the grounds. The task was to find it. Well we looked everywhere and almost gave up when Ian happened to glance up and spied it in the tree! Where else would you find a cat!

 Lunch was had, fish and chips and the tea served in posh Larnach Castle cups in the castle Ballroom.

And I wonder what this was all about?

 Hours spent at the Castle, in fact having arrived at 9 am we left the grounds just before three. It was then a question of where to stop for the night. The leisure battery was a tad lower than Ian would have liked. Fridge had been on all day, sun came out intermittently and even with the solar panel put inside the cab window, the input didn't really keep up with the fridge. So we stopped at a place called Portobello Village Tourist Park where electric hookup was available. The camp kitchen was well stocked with pots, pans and utensils, lovely to have the use of two gas rings instead of just the one and a pasta bake was prepared and thoroughly enjoyed.

In amongst the big beasties.