Dunedin Ōtepoti, located on the Pacific coast of Otago in the South Island, offers plenty of attractions. You can make the most of your visit over three to four days, discovering the best beaches, walks, and drives and enjoying the city’s renowned coffee.
Start by taking a city walk. The hills around Dunedin, Otago Peninsula and Otago Harbour are the remnants of an ancient volcano, making for steep and spectacular terrain and viewpoints. However, the area around the town centre and the west end of the harbour is flat and easy walking. Begin at one of the cafes on Vogel Street and head northeast to Toitu Otago Settlers Museum and the railway station, with a great farmers market on Saturday mornings. Continue up Stuart Street to the Octagon, head north along George Street, then turn east into Albany Street. The University of Otago occupies several blocks north of Albany. The university's beautiful early buildings are mainly situated along the Water of Leith (a river). Also, check out the botanic gardens, Baldwin Street (the steepest in the world), and the city art walk.
The city has outstanding beaches. The two closest beaches, St Kilda and St Clair on the south-facing coast, offer white sand, swimming (in summer!), and year-round surfing. St Clair features several cafes and a saltwater outdoor pool, while St Kilda is wilder and offers a great lookout from Lawyers Head at the east end of the beach. Beautiful Tomahawk Beach and Smaills Beach are east of St Kilda.
Visiting Tunnel Beach, south of the city towards Brighton, is a highlight. It is a steep walk down to the cliffs above the beach to the top of the large natural arch. James Cargill built the namesake tunnel in the 1870s to give his daughters access to the beach below the cliffs.
Historic Port Chalmers, around 20 km from central Dunedin, is worth the stop en route to Aramoana or for a trip on Blueskin Road to the Organ Pipes, Mt Cargill, and the Orokonui Bird Sanctuary. There are several incredible viewpoints overlooking the town and port. The Organ Pipes is a notable rock formation on the walk to the top of Mt Cargill. Bluesjin Road provides access to several stunning and remote beaches, including Long Beach, Whareakeake (Murderers Bay), Doctors Point, and Purakaunui Bay.
The Otago Peninsula deserves more than a day to explore fully. However, the coastal drive along Portobello Road to Portobello and Taiaroa Head (albatross and penguin viewing), followed by a return to Dunedin via Highcliff Road, provides stunning views and opportunities for stops at various scenic points, such as Larnach Castle, Sandfly Bay, Victory Beach and Sandymount. Watch out for seals, sea lions and penguins!
Dunedin has a fascinating history. The first Māori occupation occurred between 1250 and 1300, and iwi included Kahui Tipua, Te Rapuwai, Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe, and Kāi Tahu. Today, Ngāi Tahu are the dominant presence. James Cook visited the coast in 1770, and sealers from Australia, America, and Britain began to arrive in the early 1800s.
The arrival of sealers led to conflict, known as the "War of the Shirt," or Sealers' War. As the name suggests, it began with the theft of a sealer's shirt, which led to several tit-for-tat fights from 1810 to 1821 between Māori and sealers from Rakiura Stewart Island to Moeraki. It is estimated that 74 people died, and towards the end, the Ngāi Tahu village of Otakou on the Otago Peninsula was razed.
Peace was finally achieved in 1821, and the seals were locally extinct shortly after. Whaling increased in importance, and in 1831, the Weller brothers established a whaling station at Otago Harbour. The first European town was established in 1844 after Frederick Tuckett selected the site for a planned Free Church settlement. Dunedin was subsequently founded in 1848 as the principal town in the area.
A Scottish influence was there from the beginning. Dunedin comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh and the first surveyor, Charles Kettle, emulated Edinburgh in the town design. However, implementing the plan was tricky because of the steep hills. Captain William Cargill was the secular leader of the town, and Reverend Thomas Burns, a nephew of the Scottish poet Robert Burns, led the church. By the end of the 1850s, 12,000 Scots had emigrated to Dunedin.
In 1861, the discovery of gold at Gabriel's Gully near Laurence and then throughout Central Otago led to rapid growth. The Otago Museum opened in 1868 and the oldest university in NZ in 1869. By 1874, Dunedin was the largest city in the country, with a population of 30,000, ahead of Auckland at 28,000. In 1881, the first shipment of frozen meat from NZ was from Dunedin. The city also had one of the world's first cable tram systems and the first daily newspaper. The Dunedin Public Art Gallery and numerous substantial buildings followed, including First Church, Knox Church and the Railway Station. Many substantial houses were also built, and today, you can visit Olveston just below the green belt.
Once the gold stipped, the growth slowed, and today, the city of 130,000 is best known in NZ as a university town. The upside to slow growth is the relaxed vibe, fabulous surrounding natural environment and historic buildings.
