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in Octagon
Making my voice travel over 20 or 30 metres.
The main interior
The Octagon, with St Paul's and the Town Hall
Is there any motorhome rental company operating out of Dunedin? It suits me to fly in/out of Dunedin but the major rental companies don't appear to have depots there.
No, none of the major companies do. Most operate out of Christchurch only in the South Island. Maui/Backpacker/Britz operate out of Queenstown, but you pay more (a one off Location Fee of NZ $100.00 - NZ $175.00, depending when you're here. Price goes up on 1 April I think).
You might find a local little company using a search engine, but watch that they have a decent sized fleet. That is the problem with not hiring from a largish company ~ the backup service. If you breakdown, you want to know you can get it fixed, or the van replaced, without too much problem.
It would be a good idea to make the Octagon Information Centre your first stop in Dunedin - you'll find so much of what you need here - brochures, information, can make tour bookings here, and the staff are very friendly, helpful and efficient, with plenty of people going through, but no long waiting queues at any of the times we were there.
Also souvenirs for sale.
If you have a car, then a drive to the summit of Mount Cargill, northeast of the city, is a must. The views from here are expansive and you can see the entire Otago Peninsula and harbour. To the north and northwest the views stretch up the coast and into the rugged Otago hinterland.
The road is gravel and not well graded for about a quarter of the way (the last leg).
Update Feb. 2008
What a shame! On our visit to Dunedin in February 2008 we had to find out that one of our two favourite restaurants has closed down. We were so looking forward to a dinner there! I was told they closed down because the owner of the historic building in George Street had announced to raise the rent drastically, and the owners were not willing to pay. So this perfect nice place is history. Hopefully they find another place, as their fabulous cuisine was such a great experience. A sign in the window indicates that the upper floors of the building are for lease.
I leave this tip here because I hope Cusina Pilipinas will open somewhere else soon.
The first thing I noticed was just the name, and as I thought Filipino restaurants are rather rare, we wanted to get a taste of this kind of cuisine. The first surprise was that the restaurant was not at the ground floor as I had supposed... The second surprise that the the area in the first floor was not all... There was another staircase which led to a spectacular attic with a very old kauri ceiling and looks over a part of the city. The house was the home of Dunedin's first hospital doctor. (I must double-check this... It has been a while... The history of the building is printed in the menu.) The third surprise was the divine food, everything tasted so incredibly delicious, and the the fourth surprise the moderate prices. Over all, a great dining experience. When we are back in Dunedin, we will be back at Cusina Pilipinas! All dishes had unique flavours, so dining was like a discovery tour, and the tastebuds being surprised with every new dish. My starter was to die for: marinated fish with fresh herbs, absolutely divine.
The restaurant also offers morning/afternoon teas and finger foods, caters for all kinds of functions - but have not tried this.
Multiple tours. We took the one-hour tour ($30 adult, $10 kids) and saw fur seals, shags, Royal Albatross and Royal Spoonbill.
Great way to see the bird and water life of the Otago Peninsula. Crew members there to make sure you're seeing what's out there. Jackets & binoculars provided.
The Road to Larnarch Castle is amazing… we saw super green grass with thousands of Sheeps along it. We stopped by several times along the drive to take pictures of the beautiful harbour, mountains, bay, sheeps and more sheeps.
The Entrance Fee to Larnarch Castle is NZD 25 Adult and NZD 10 child, however if you just wanna check out the gardens without entering the castle, its NZD 10 and NZD 3 for child. You may wanna stay there for a night at Single/Twin/Double $250.
This is the first european style castle i ever seen. It was built by William Larnarch and he was once a banker then earn his fortune via tradings. His story is quite tragic, His first wife passed away then he married his second wife, then his second wife passed away, then he married his third wife. he later found out the affair between his eldest son and his 3rd wife, and he commited suicide by a shot on his head.
There is a room which we have to pass thru the black curtains to get in. There was this Angmo lady trying to be funny jumped out from the room and freaked me out til i fell to the floor. That room is creepy, it displayed his 3rd wife wedding dress and some victorian ladies possessions.
We enjoyed the view very much from the top of the Castle, and later the garden.
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