If the past is another country, as Margaret Barker says, her former home, Larnach Castle, must be nestled between time zones.
Mrs Barker has just celebrated her 70th birthday and, with it, the 45th anniversary of her owning the Otago Peninsula mansion.
At the age of 25, Mrs Barker bought Larnach Castle with her husband at the time, the late Barry Barker.
The young couple took on the castle with tourism in mind, but the speed with which it became a public attraction took the newlyweds by surprise.
On March 3, 1967, the couple bought the property. The next day they heard the first visitor's knock at the door.
Although Larnach Castle was a restoration project of grand proportions and the subject of public curiosity, it was also the Barkers' home.
Daughter Sophie was born soon after the couple moved in, followed by son Norcombe. The sprawling property gave them plenty of room to roam.
The Barkers were living in Wellington when they decided to move south into Larnach Castle.
"Barry was a member of the travel and holidays association at the time [now the Tourism Industry Association] and thought it was a good idea to enter the tourist industry. We were looking for an opportunity and I just thought [Larnach Castle] was a worthwhile project and a nice place for the children to grow up," Mrs Barker said.
After years of hard work and determination, the Larnach Castle operation now employs up to 78 staff.
Mrs Barker lived in the castle until about five years ago, when she moved to Dunedin, but she still keeps an apartment in the mansion. She maintains an active role in daily operations at the castle, now owned by Larnach Castle Ltd, of which her son is director.
Mrs Barker said there were ongoing complex issues involved with the property's maintenance, but she hoped it would be open to the public well into the future.
Asked whether she would restore a castle again if given the chance, Mrs Barker did not have an immediate answer.
"The past is another country.
"That's really how I feel about it," she said.
