Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula
Dunedin
Dunedin is a city with a strong sense of its Scottish heritage, named the Edinburgh of south by its settlers, it is New Zealand’s oldest city. Today it is well known as center of learning, being host to New Zealand’s first and most famous university, the University of Otago.
Dunedin was originally established as a trading port and financial center to serve the booming Central Otago gold rush of the mid 1800’s and many of New Zealand’s original banks and public houses can still be seen in the historic exchange area of the city.
Dunedin is serviced by 2 working ports set at each end of the spectacular Otago Peninsula, an area famous for its diverse marine wild life, hiking, surfing and it’s also home to New Zealand’s only castle! The city and its suburbs are set amongst several large hills including Mt Cargill, Mt Swampy and Mt Flagstaff and it is also home to the steepest road in the world, Baldwin Street.
The Otago Peninsula
Just minutes away from Dunedin City is the Otago Peninsula, with numerous deserted white sand beaches stretching around from the city to the heads on the wild Pacific Ocean. This area is home to an amazing array of marine wildlife, native Hooker Sea Lions, Fur Seals, tiny Yellow Eyed and Blue Penguins are found on most beaches and it is also home to the only mainland Royal Albatross colony in the world. There are a number of excellent hiking tracks on the peninsula, to find out more information on these you can visit the otago-peninsula.co.nz web site.
The area is also very popular with local surfers and there are a number of great breaks available, although the water is cold and there are often Killer Whale sightings off shore.