Top Dunedin scenic highlights
Otago's scenery has a soulful quality that urges you to stay a while. Wild, coastal
landscapes contrast with heritage buildings and rural tranquillity. There's such
a lot to absorb.
Selected highlights at a glance
A genuine castle overlooking the beautiful Otago Harbour
Larnach Castle, located on the Otago Peninsula, is New Zealand's only castle. William Larnach - Minister of the Crown, banker, financier and merchant Baron, built the castle for his beloved first wife, Eliza Jane Guise. Construction began in 1871 and 200 workmen laboured for five years before the family moved in. Gifted European craftsmen worked for eleven more years to embellish the interiors with the finest materials from around the world. The ornate interior carving, detailed stonework, woodcarving, plasterwork and glass are outstanding. The castle consists of forty-three rooms and a large ballroom. It is open for viewing every day.
A trip to the tip of the Otago Peninsula
Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula was once the site of the important Pukekura fortified pa in the 18th century. Later it was a busy population centre involved with harbour work, shore defence and prison labour projects. Presently it is the home of the Royal Albatross Colony, the only mainland breeding colony of royal albatross in the world. It's also the place to see the Armstrong Disappearing Gun, installed to fend off a feared Russian invasion in 1880 and later used as a defence post in the two world wars.
Just before Taiaroa Head is the Otakou marae and village, from which Otago gets its name. There is still a strong Maori presence here, and the settlement's most prominent building is the Maori church.
Marvellously huge marbles all over the beach
The famous Moeraki boulders lie scattered along a beach 40 kilometres south of
Oamaru. According to Maori legend, the boulders are gourds washed from the great
voyaging canoe Araiteuru when it was wrecked upon landfall in New Zealand some
1000 years ago.
Scientists explain the boulders as septarian concretions formed about 65 million
years ago. Crystallization of calcium and carbonates around charged particles
in muddy undersea sediments gradually formed the boulders. The process took as
long as four million years. The soft mudstone containing the boulders was raised
from the seabed around 15 million years ago, and the sea is gradually washing
away the mudstone to expose the erosion-resistant boulders.
The viewing platform, just a few minutes walk through regenerating native forest,
offers good views of the boulders. If you're lucky, Hector's dolphins will be
playing in the waves.
A tunnel hewn by hand through sandstone cliffs
To provide his daughters with a private bathing beach, the son of Captain William
Cargill (a wealthy landowner and noted community leader) had a tunnel hewn in
the sandstone cliffs south of St Clair. Tragically, one of his daughters is said
to have drowned in the waves here.
Watch southern ocean rollers smash against steep cliffs; look for fossil shells
over 20 million years old embedded in the sandstone blocks strewn on the beach;
see the large sandstone arch formed by the ocean's power. The beach, which is
now known as Tunnel Beach, is a one hour return walk.
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Seasonal Tips
DURING YOUR VISIT
The Dunedin Botanic Garden, established in 1863, was New Zealand’s first. In spring the Rhododendron Dell is in full bloom. Look also for camellias, flowering cherries, magnolias and spring bulbs.
Glenfalloch Woodland Gardens and Larnach Castle Gardens should definitely be on your spring agenda. Further north, Oamaru Gardens are a total delight. As you drive to Oamaru, through the rural settlements around Palmerston, lambs and daffodils are everywhere.
| Packed with antiques and stories, Lanarch Castle is Dunedin's favourite icon. |
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| The perfectly spherical Moeraki Boulders. |
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