Cadbury World, 280 Cumberland St . Daily tours running every half hour from 9am-4pm, with hours extended to 7pm during the summer. Closed Christmas Day and the morning of Anzac Day. Take a guided tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory, a factory that accounts for more that 75% of New Zealand's chocolate production.
Robert Burns' statue in the Octagon. Shop hours: M-Th 9:30am-7pm, F-Su 9:30am-5pm. Tours daily at 10am, 12 noon, 2pm. Close Christmas day, Good Friday, Easter Saturday/Sunday, and shortened hours on ANZAC day. Children under fifteen require adult supervision. The brewery has been a Dunedin landmark since its founding in 1876. The guided tour takes you through the Speight's brewery, sharing the hertiage and culture of beer, from the Babylonians to today. The tour's finale is a 25 minute beer tasting. You must be 18 years old to join in on the tasting.
Fortune Theatre, 231 Stuart St, corner of Stuart St and Moray Pl, Box office 03, Administration 03, fax 03, . Housed in a converted stone church, the Fortune Theatre provides professional live performances to the citizens of Otago. Hoyts 6 Octagon Cinemas, 33 The Octagon, 03. Catch a feature film in the Octagon.
The Octagon.
The city center - it is shaped like an Octagon instead of the standard square. This part of town is very active and lots of businesses strive to be near it.
Robert Burns statue. The over 100 year old statue of poet Robbie Burns sits in The Octagon and was recently restored. The statue was cast by a notable sculptor of Edinburgh, Scotland. This same sculptor made four other, nearly identical, statues, one of which rests in Central Park, New York.
The Organ Pipes small columnar rock format set in a hillside with splendid views. Pleasant hike up a steep bush track from a carpark about 5km out of town along North Road.
The architecture
Otago University has some great old buildings to wander about and see, when Uni's in its a good place to sit, people watch and take it all in, some good food/cafes/bars are nearby too.
The Royal Albatross colony, at Taiaroa Head, is the only mainland albatross nesting site in the world. It is an hour's drive along the western coast of Otago Peninsula on a road that skirts the water for most of its length without any guardrail. In places, the city buses which frequent the road are wider than the lanes (the local traffic is used to this, and drives very carefully), so if you don't trust your driving reflexes, take a coach instead. Albatrosses may be seen during the summer months, as well as other wildlife at all times of the year. Guided tours of the colony and the old fortifications on and under the headland are conducted daily.
Otago Museum
Carisbrook - The House of Pain! Where great rugby and cricket games are won and lost.
The university (Otago University) - some beautiful old stone buildings, with one or two impressive newer buildings and the Water of Leith running through.
Tunnel beach - The story goes that crazy old Cargill had a steep tunnel cut through the stone cliff, so his daughter could go to the beach. Some stories say she later drowned, but it's a lovely beach all the same, and the tunnel is very spooky. You need to walk over farmland to get there, so access is banned during lambing. See the visitor's centre in the Octagon for further information.
Otago Peninsula - much scenic coastline including rugged points and headlands, wildfowl-laden mud flats and beautiful Allans Beach (plus several smaller beaches) on the south/east coast, and picturesque hamlets on the north/west coast (including a pretty and peaceful cemetery on a little spit of land called Dunoon, many boat-houses and a miniscule beach). Seals, sea-lions and other interesting fauna turn up at all of the southern/eastern beaches.
Otakou marae - a Maori church and meeting-house, which gave the Otago Peninsula its name. Find it on a side-road near Harington Point, at the outer (nother/east) end of the Peninsula.
Larnach Castle: Billed as "the only castle" in New Zealand, it's very pretty but technically only a manor house and there is another (ruined, but being restored) building in the same predicament called Cargill's Castle in the southern suburbs of Dunedin. Lanarch Castle has a rich and interesting history.
Baldwin Street: Located in Dunedin's North East Valley suburb. According to the Guinness Book of Records it is the steepest street in the world. Take the ten minute walk to the top or drive up to enjoy the view looking down! There is a drinking fountain at the top. Some people have tried, and a few have succeeded, cycling all the way up Baldwin Street - try it if you're a keen cyclist.
Baldwin Street Gutbuster: Take part in a run up and back on the world's steepest street during the city's summer festival.
Swim or surf the beaches. Much more fun if you wear a wetsuit. If it's a bit cold, there's heated pooladjacent to the main beach.
Tramping: Dunedin has some of the most easily-accessible tracks of any city in NZ. In less than half an hour you can be in pristine bush far from the worries of the world. Ask about Green Hut Track, Carey's Creek, Possum Hut, Rosella Ridge, Yellow Ridge, Rocky Ridge, Rongamai, Honeycomb, Powder Creek, Long Ridge, Swampy Ridge, Leith Saddle, Burns, Rustlers, Nichols Creek, Nichols Falls, to name just some of the fabulous tramping tracks around this city. Ask at the Visitor Centre or get "The Ultimate Tramping Guide for around Dunedin" at DoC ($10) and cut loose.
Otago Peninsula & The Catlins
Beyond the city's environs lie two unspoilt wilderness areas, the Otago Peninsula and the Catlins. These regions are rich in bird and wildlife, including gannets, albatross, sea lions and the rare Hector's dolphin.
Otago Peninsula
Royal Albatross Colony & Centre
Taiaroa Head is home to the world's only mainland albatross colony. Guided tours include a presentation of an albatross life, a visit to a nature reserve viewing area and the historic Fort Taiaroa. From the ridge at the top of the peninsula, a track leads to Penguin Beach, home to a colony of yellow-eyed penguins. Offshore on Seal Island are colonies of southern fur seals and hooker sea lions.
Monarch Wildlife Cruises
Dunedin's well-known sea cruise provides opportunities to view Royal Albatross, penguins, seals and shags.
The Catlins
This beautiful wilderness area encompasses forests, rivers and dramatic coastline and is richly endowed with wildlife including Hector's dolphins, Hooker's sea lions, fur seals and yellow-eyed penguins. Native birds include bellbirds, gannets, fantails, herons, oystercatchers, tui and yellowheads.
Walks
Cathedral Caves
A 20 minute bush and beach walk to a group of five high-vaulted limestone caverns, which can only be entered at low tide. The caves, gouged out by the sea from the cliffs of Waipati Beach, rise to 30 metres in places. The closest caves extend underground almost 100 metres, and there are three less visited caves around the headland.
Curio Bay
Located 20 kilometres southeast of Tokanui, this forest of fossilised tree-trunks, some with their root systems intact, extends about 13 kilometres down the coast. The 160 million-year-old forest dates back to the Middle Jurassic Age and is only visible at low tide. Over time, silica has replaced the wood of the trees, leaving them resistant to erosion. Tree trunks range from 15-30 metres long and are thought to be related to the kauri, a modern New Zealand native, and the Norfolk Island pine.
Nugget Point
Located 4 kilometres south of Nugget Bay, this rocky 11 kilometre long headland is a breeding area for gannets, sooty shearwaters, shags and yellow-eyed penguins. Fur seals and sea lions also gather below the historic lighthouse, built in 1869. The point is named after the cluster of rocks scattered about its base, referred to by early whalers as 'The Nuggets'.
Purakaunui Falls
This 20 metre waterfall descends over three broad terraces. The falls are set in beech forest about 19 kilometres southeast of Nugget Point.
Slope Point
The most southern point of the South Island, famous for its windswept landscape and spectacular cliffs. The point, located 14 kilometres southeast of Takanui, was named in 1870 by an early settler, J. O'Brien.
Waipapa Point
A historic lighthouse and the scene of one of New Zealand's worst shipping disasters - the wreck of the Tararua on 29 April, 1881. Of the 151 people onboard, 131 were drowned. The lighthouse was built shortly after.
Dunedin Itinerary
The Otago Peninsula, just 20 minutes drive from Dunedin, is renowned for its unique wildlife colonies and New Zealand's only castle, Larnach.
Start the day in Dunedin's heart, the Octagon, where a superb collection of Victorian and Edwardian architecture includes the Dunedin Railway Station (Flemish Renaissance style), the Dunedin High Court, First Church, St Paul's Cathedral and the Municipal Chambers feature. Drive past the stately historic home of Olveston on Royal Terrace, which is open to the general public.
Drive along North Road to Baldwin Street, the world's steepest street, and continue to Signal Hill Lookout for views over city, peninsula and harbour. Start the Otago Peninsula journey by taking Highcliff Road along the top ridge of the rolling green hills, alongside stonewalled farms. Enjoy spectacular views over the Pacific Ocean, peninsula beaches and Otago Harbour.
Call at Larnach Castle to see the stately home and its 14ha of manicured gardens, before continuing on to Hoopers and Papanui Inlets, which are home to a large variety of wading and water birds. Carry onto Portobello, a small seaside village where craft outlets and the Westpac Aquarium can be found.
Further along Harington Point Road is Penguin Place - a yellow-eyed penguin conservation site offering a 90-minute tour. Close at hand is the Royal Albatross Centre at Taiaroa Head, the world's only mainland albatross colony. Small groups are guided through the interpretive displays before moving on to the main observation area to see these birds in their natural environment.
Head back along Harington Point Road to Wellers Rock Jetty, one of the ports of call for Monarch Wildlife Cruises. A series of one-hour cruises on the Otago Harbour focuses on the geology, wildlife and history of Taiaroa Head and surrounding coastline.
Return to Dunedin along Harington Point Road and Portobello Road (45 minutes).
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