Sunday 27 Feb. Up at the crack of dawn to catch the early ferry back to the mainland. We have a leisurely drive ahead, mainly following the southeastern coast, through a scenic area called the Catlins, up to Dunedin. We make a couple of stops along the way at beaches and also in a small town for a bite to eat, choosing the Lumberman Café, which turns out to provide more than decent food, at good prices (did we mention how expensive everything seems in this country?) Our next stay is on the Otago peninsula, which is part of Dunedin. Once we reach the peninsula we are surprised to see that it is a good 30K to our destination according to the SatNav. We drive on and soon we are on a very windy, very narrow, very hilly road that seems endless. And once we are at the top, we see a sign to Larnach Castle and decide to check it out as we have plenty of time. Turns out this is NZ's only castle so is considered quite a monument. We considered it to be the worst of Victorian Scottish Baronial. It was built by an Anglo/New Zealander who struck it rich as banker to the gold miners. He had six children and three wives, the first two being sisters. A colourful life indeed. The castle is now privately owned by a family who have made it their lives' work to restore it to its former glories. If your taste runs to the most elaborate, embellished, and colourful Victoriana, you will love this place. The gardens were lovely and are rightly considered a national treasure. Castle toured and grounds admired, we return to the car for the balance of our journey.

At last we reach Kaimata, which sits on the slope above a wide tidal estuary, the Papanui Inlet, that flows out to the South Pacific. We are warmly welcomed by Rachel, who, with her husband Lyle, built Kaimata, using wood from macracarpa trees on the land. Kaimata has just three guest rooms and a central lodge with comfortable seating area in front of a fireplace, complete with telescope, and dining table and kitchen. Glass walls floor to ceiling. Our room was on the small side but beautifully appointed, with glass doors out to a terrace with Adirondack chairs (first time we've seen these over here), perched over the estuary, with marvellous views of a constantly changing seascape. Only a handful of other houses are visible around the entire inlet. So peaceful. The tide was out, so we saw lots of shore birds including white faced herons, spoonbills, black swans, black shags (I don't make up these names), oystercatchers, pied stilts and of course gulls. Robin took some wonderful photos. We head out again after this bit of bird watching, as we have been invited for dinner by Jo Cash and Malcolm Couling. Jo worked at Amlin with Robin for two years, and moved back to her native NZ 6 years ago. We drove to their house in the hills above Dunedin (Rachel showing us the much shorter route we should have taken to Kaimata), and had a lovely evening with Jo and Malcolm. We didn't get to meet Ben (3) and Ava (12 weeks), as they were both tucked up by the time we arrived. Malcolm cooked us a delicious meal of salmon, veg, salad and homemade tiramisu, accompanied by some lovely Otago Pinot Noir. A really enjoyable evening.

Monday 28 Feb. A relaxed breakfast with a Dutch couple also staying at Kaimata, served by Danni, the Belgian chef. She made a divine fruit compote. With regrets, we packed up and headed out, driving to the other side of the inlet where we were able to view a large colony of fur seals. Late morning, we headed into the center of Dunedin to see a bit of the city. The central square of Dunedin is actually an Octagon, dominated by St. Paul's Cathedral, built in the early 1900s on the spot of an earlier church. Robert Burns' nephew was the first pastor here. Then on to Dunedin railway station which is a marvelous monument to the glory days of rail travel and the other side of the Scottish Baronial coin from Larnach castle. Inside, the terminal was all multi-coloured tiling and mosaics, floor to ceiling. Lunch at a harbourside café served by an expat Brit, then we were on the road again north out of Dunedin.