Every once in a while travellers have the opportunity to stay at a place that is a little out of the ordinary. My wife and I had such an experience during our most recent trip to New Zealand, spending two nights enjoying the serenity at The Barn Bed & Breakfast.

In the spirit of transparency it is important to state upfront that we did not receive any kind of discount or financial compensation for this article. We enjoyed our stay and wanted to share our experience with readers.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.

The first thing that travellers need to know is that The Barn Bed & Breakfast is off the beaten path, situated in the Waitati area about 25 minutes north of Dunedin. The navigation app on my cellphone was able to guide us all the way in.

To reach the property you will need to drive on gravel roads that traverse through some hilly farmland. Some care needs to be taken as the gravel is quite loose in spots so modest speeds are definitely recommended, especially on the downgrades of hills.

The scenery is very pleasant and if you’re like me, you’ll stop a number of times along the way to capture some landscape images.

As you pass various farms you may spot a few birds and farm animals along the way.

The road sign will tell you when you’re getting close to the property.

After you turn off Clark Road onto the driveway for The Barn Bed & Breakfast, you’ll find more opportunities for landscape images on this scenic approach.

Once you arrive at The Barn, you’ll discover that it is a former storage building that has been converted into a one bedroom accommodation complete with kitchen, laundry, dining area, and lounge area.

The grounds are quite beautiful and depending on the weather afford some panoramic views. We ran into a fair amount of fog during our stay.

We used The Barn Bed & Breakfast as our home base for explorations in the Dunedin area so I didn’t take the opportunity to do any bird photography on site. I can imagine that many travellers would enjoy the serenity and relaxation at this property as an intended final destination.

I did have the chance to see some of the owner’s chickens and sheep, and enjoyed the farm fresh eggs provided. We did not avail ourselves of the breakfast option, so our room was $125 New Zealand dollars per night which we thought was very good value. The property does not accept credit cards. Payments are done either with cash or bank transfer via Smartphone. There is no internet available at this property.

If you would like to stay in comfortable accommodations that are off the beaten path but still an easy drive to Dunedin, The Barn Bed & Breakfast is worth considering. The owners are very helpful and accommodating.

Technical Note:
All photographs were captured hand-held using Nikon 1 gear as per the EXIF data. All images were produced from RAW files using my standard process of DxO PhotoLab, CS6 and the Nik Collection.

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