Dunedin Chinese Garden

 

 

Admire the detail

The traditional shapes and colours of the entrance to the Chinese Garden beckons to us and we enter a place of beauty and tranquillity.

The garden was prefabricated and assembled in Shanghai on a site identical in size and shape to that in Dunedin. Then they dismantled it and transported it to Dunedin where it was reconstructed on site using artisans and supervisors from Shanghai. It was opened in 2008.

It is the only authentic Chinese Garden in New Zealand. It is the first in the southern hemisphere and one of only a handful outside China. I checked these facts in Wikipedia…

The garden is an authentic Chinese Garden, having been created with the support of the Dunedin City Council and the Shanghai Municipal Government. It cost $7 million to construct. The garden is New Zealand’s only authentic Chinese Garden and one of only three outside China – the first of its kind to be built in the southern hemisphere. The only other two authentic Chinese Gardens outside of China at the time are in Portland, USA, and Vancouver, Canada.

All the buildings are intricately constructed in the style that has been used in China since the 4th century BC using no nails. All the rocks and granite also came from China in 100 20ft containers. That attention to detail is what makes this garden authentic and so beautiful.

These rocks represent the mountains. To see the real thing take a trip over to “catbird in china”. Cathy has recently been exploring China and her photos of the Stone Forest are stunning.

Walkways meander around the outside of the gardens and intricate windows give tantalising views of the gardens.

A teahouse looks very tempting and the sweet sound of chinese music drifts out, but we have a ship to catch…

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So we walk slowly on. This is a place I would like to spend longer in. This is definitely the downside of a cruise. Time on shore is very limited…

But still time to see more, so follow me…

Shades of Autumn

This looks like a dragon to me, or a prehistoric monster.

Time to go back over the curved bridge and out into the bustling world of modern-day Dunedin after a tranquil retreat of one hour in ancient China.

 

 

 

 

Sydney snippets… 3 day roundup, Art, Architecture and Gardens…

We have settled in to our Airbnb accommodation in Bondi Junction, our hostess, Shona, has welcomed us like one of the family.

Our Airbnb accommodation.

It is only a 10 minute walk to the railway station and from there, with a $2-50 senior pass, Sydney is at our beck and call.

The weather has been perfect so here is a roundup of what we have done in 3 days…

First a visit to the NSW Art Gallery. Can you see Jack?

A hall full of classic art

This picture is one of my favourites

Groups of school children are being shown to appreciate art

Beautiful still life

A close up shows the juice dripping from the oyster.

It can be very tiring being a tourist

After a morning absorbed with the beauty of art it was time for lunch.

Across the road in the Domain is the Domain Kiosk.

A favourite place for lunch

Now to immerse myself in the beauty of nature.

Follow me into the Royal Botanic Gardens of Sydney

I have over 100 photos, the light was superb for photography, so I have many more to show you at a future date.

Suddenly from a blue sky a summer storm passed over. Torrential rain for 10 minutes and every one ran for cover under the huge, spreading Morton Bay Fig trees.

It past as quickly as it came.

No visit to Sydney is complete with out walking past these 2 icons.

Day 2 was again perfect weather so this time we visit another favourite, the Chinese Gardens at Darling Harbour.

These gardens are in the heart of Sydney

We had lunch in the garden Restaurant and then spent hours wandering around, sitting, sketching and enjoying the peace and tranquillity of these beautiful gardens.

Leaving the Chinese Gardens we walk through Darling Harbour to catch a ferry round to Circular Quay.

Joyful sculpture of dancing Brolgas

Walking in the sun

Playing chess

Just relaxing with the birds

Just finished a game of table tennis

 On the way we pass under the “Old Coat-hanger”

Cruise liner in port

In Circular Quay we see this cruise liner tied up. This is not the one we are going on but I imagine ours will also be this big.

Day 3 we take a train to Surry Hills and wander around the galleries and interesting boutique style shops.

Then catching another bus we search out the UTS (Sydney university of technology) to see the Frank Gehry designed building. I will do another post about this amazing building, but will just give you a preview of the building here.

We have walked miles and our legs feel at least 6 inches shorter. We have one more day before we join our cruise to New Zealand. So this will be my last post for about 2 weeks. I will miss visiting you all and will probably have internet withdrawal symptoms.

By the way Jude, you may notice quite a number of benches scattered around…