Pronounced Duh-nee-din, Dunedin is New Zealand’s oldest city located far down under in the south east.
The city sits in a natural harbour, with the city centre in a flat land area surrounded by suburbs which has steep hillsides. Some streets are very steep like the famous Balwin street.
Wildlife such as yellow-eyed penguins, fur seals and the world’s only mainland albatross colony live here.
The highlights of the city are easy access to beaches, wildlife tours and awesome views. Dunedin town also has some impressive historic architecture.
We drove into Dunedin from Owaka after exploring the Southland and the Southern Scenic route attractions.
Here are some of the highlights of Dunedin and surrounds that are worth visiting.
Dunedin Railway Station
Yes, it is weird mentioning a railway station as the first point of attraction. Can you believe this is the most photographed building in Dunedin?
This 1906 Flemish Renaissance railway station has some gems inside and beautiful gardens outside. The sports museum on an upper floor tells visitors about the renowned kiwi sportspersons, and there are plenty of them, and their fabulous achievements in rugby, cricket, rowing, cycling, boxing, tennis, and swimming.
At one time it was the country’s busiest railway station with over 100 trains per day.
A bit about its architecture. It has a light and dark pattern with dark basalt and lighter Oamaru stone facings. The supporting pillars are made of pink granite. The roof had terracotta shingles tiles. A 37- metre clock tower is quite prominent at the southern end.
When you are touring the city, combine a visit to this historical railway station with a journey on the famous Taieri Gorge railway.
Larnach Castle and Gardens
This ‘castle’, the only one in New Zealand, is actually a manor house.
William Larnach, a wealthy businessman, employed 200 workmen for 12 years to build this beautiful castle. His descendants kept the castle, and its authentic gardens and spectacular tower views, open to visitors for many years. It has now become a heritage site, though it is still privately owned and cared for by the Barker family who purchased it as their home in 1967.
Larnach Castle castle also offers boutique lodge rooms in the castle gardens. The huge ball room is available for weddings, balls and celebrations. It also has an excellent café for lunch and high tea.
The castle showcases an example of an architectural style called Gothic revival.
The drive to the castle itself is very scenic with steep slopes and awesome views.
Taiaroa Head and Lighthouse
Taiaroa Head is a picturesque headland on the Otago Peninsula – about 45 minutes by car from Dunedin. There are guided tours here at the Royal Albatross centre to see various types of birds, the foremost of which is, obviously, the Albatross.
The whole area is full of dramatic views of cliffs, coasts, a lighthouse and turquoise water.
Taiaroa Head Lighthouse is the oldest working lighthouse in South Island. It is a small stone tower supported by iron girders.
The visitor center here has an interesting video room playing movies about albatrosses and how they maintain the breeding colony.
Dunedin Botanic Garden
The huge botanic garden is definitely one of the popular attractions in Dunedin. Located near the University of Otago, this garden is NZ’s first botanic garden – a top-rated garden of International significance.
The garden has over 6,800 species of plants collected from all around the world – North America, Asia, the Himalayas and the Mediterranean. You can spend hours, even days, exploring the horticultural treasures here – herb gardens, a rock garden, rhododendron trees, an aviary and a winter garden.
It also has beautiful lawns, hill views, and wild bellbirds and tui.
There are several walking routes within this well-maintained garden. The various levels of slopes within the garden provide opportunity for a good workout. It’s the perfect place to stop by for as much time as you can spare.
Port Chalmers
Port Chalmers is the main port in Dunedin where you will arrive if you are on a cruise ship.
There are some great viewpoints here, plus, plenty of old buildings, shops and cafes.
The surrounding areas in Port Chalmers area include many bays and lookouts. Flagstaff lookout and island terrace are two great points for photo ops.
There is an interesting Maritime Museum that resides in a former post office. It features collections that showcase its shipping and fishing history and Antarctic exploration pursuits. The port’s daily operations can be viewed through a large window inside its gallery.
We drove around its many bays – Portobello bay, Deborah bay, Carey Bay, Dowling Bay and Waipuna bay and stopped here and there for photo ops.
Aramoana beach and Sunrise point
Follow the road past Port Chalmers around the harbour and you will reach the awesome Aramoana where the harbour meets the ocean. It is totally tranquil and relaxing.
The steep cliffs slope down onto the beach and water.
The Aramoana Mole, a huge man-made breakwater, separates the beaches and keeps the harbour clear. The Aramoana Spit is another stretch of land extending into the harbour.
Walk along the long boardwalk through the salt marsh and enjoy the views of local bird life and incoming ships from the viewing platform at the end. We saw several sea lions resting on the spit and mole.
Steepest Residential street in the world
Balwin Street, a residential street in Dunedin, is considered as the world’s steepest street (vetted by the Guinness world records).
Every year there is a Jaffa race down the street. This road is a big Dunedin tourist attraction. You will see several tourists taking pictures of the street.
You could also start at the bottom and do a 10-15 minute hard, steep climb as an adventure.
Sandfly Bay
It is probably the best bay to get awesome views. Walk down the hill from the car park towards the beach. Go all the way to the beach walking through the sand dunes OR just go up to the view point for awesome views and photos.
There are views of prominent sand dunes, turquoise and blue water, and waves lashing on the shores. This is a sheltered bay, located about 15 kms from the city via steep sloped roads. The drive is totally worthwhile because of the views and the ambience. You might see yellow-eyed penguins and sea lions along the coasts.
You may need to watch out for sandflies during the summer months!
Here are some awesome views from our Airbnb of a colorful sunset and an interesting stretch of land with a fun rail line in the middle of the bay near St Leonard Yacht Club.
Moraeki Boulders
Drive about an hour and half from Dunedin, on state highway 1, to reach Koekohe Beach where the Moraeki Boulders are located.
It’s a kind of wonder to see several huge boulders (about 1-2 metres in diameter and weighing many tons) lying on a beach stretching from Moeraeki to Hampsen.
While local legend says these are created by giants, these are actually one of the fascinating geological phenomenona in NZ. They are all almost perfectly round! It is said to have resulted from concretion, which is the precipitation of calcite in mudstone over millions of years and today, this is a protected reserve in NZ..
Totally unique – we have not seen anything like this in any country we have visited.
Sadly, they are slowly falling open and coming loose on the shore due to erosion.
The entire track is around 300 metres long and visitors can walk or picnic here. Koekohe beach has water sports facilities.
There is a café on the beach with great waterfront views, plus good snacks and seafood.
We visited Moraeki boulders on our way out of Dunedin towards Twizel. That route crossing the southern part of South Island towards Twizel was just a scenic drive through green fields, pristine villages and blue water views.
If you are touring South Island, don’t miss out on Dunedin. It is very much worth it.
It sure sounds like we will have to put Dunedin on our list to visit when we finally get to New Zealand. A great stop on the Southern Scenic Route. I am not totally surprised to read that the railway station is one of the top visited sites. There is always a long history attached to trains stations. And this one is lovely in design. We would definitely want to wander all the great outdoor sights. Our ornithologist daughter would send us for Albatross sightings. But I would be looking for yellow-eyed penguins. I was surprised to read that Baldwin Street was the steepest in the world. I always thought that record would go to San Francisco. One day we will get there.
Baldwin street in Dunedin has a maximum grade of 34.8% whereas the Filbert street in San Francisco has a maximum grade of 31.5%! I was suprised too when I learnt this. 🙂
Even though I have been to NZ twice, I still haven’t explored Dunedin; hopefully, I will on the next visit. I learnt something new when I read about the world’s steepest road being there, as I had always presumed it to be in San Francisco ( visions of driving down that windy road with two kids screaming in the back come to mind!). I have seen Albatross in Kaikoura and would love to see them again in Dunedin.
I have never heard of Dundin before but you did such an amazing job selling me on it 🙂
The Moraeki Boulders look so unique! And that railway station is gorgeous.
Thanks for adding to my bucket list!
I would not where to begin my exploration. This sounds like another fairy land. An acquaintance did a driving trip in New Zealand and he recommended it to me. I think, I would need a week to see Dunedin only. It has just about everything–albatross, sea lions, cliffs, yellow-eyed penguins, a beautiful botanical garden. And to top that it is one of the oldest cities in NZ. Then there’s that train station and the Moraeki boulders. I do hope I get to see them before they break open.
NZ is top of our bucket list – but from the UK it’s about as far as we can travel on earth before we start travelling home! We can only visit when the kids have their summer hols – which in NZ is in winter … it’s a long long way to travel for cold weather. We are used to rain and miserable temperatures here!
Dunedin sounds like it has to be on any itinerary when visiting New Zealand. The Moraeki Boulders are so unique, I would love to see them. I also love how Port Chalmers looks.
I love the legend of the boulders. Of course, it was giants! 🙂 I didn’t realize Dunedin was so old, but I’ve never been to New Zealand. I’d love to go someday. Also, 6800 species is SO many for a botanical garden, but it’s interesting that they have a worldwide collection. Dunedin seems like such a great place and a must-see area!
I’ve heard of Dunedin but didn’t know what it was known for. Cool that it has the world’s only mainland albatross colony living there. And plenty of beautiful architecture and gardens to explore! The railway station, Larnach castle, and lighthouse would definitely be on my itinerary. But the Moraeki Boulders would also be very interesting. Stunning views at the beach as well. I can definitely see why a stop in Denedin is a must!
New Zealand is so high on my list right now. And specifically after reading this post, I am all for Dunedin. History combined with beaches and wildlife – that is a combination that is hard to resist. The boulder place looks so picturesque. And I loved the sound of the Renaissance railway station too . Definitely the oldest city has lots to share.
I can see why the Flemish Renaissance railway station took so long to build. It is a beautiful building and one I would want to visit if I am in the area.
Ahh, I’d love to get to visit sometime! (Currently planning a trip to Australia/New Zealand so fingers crossed!) It’d be awesome to check out the botanic garden and just hang out along that beautiful coastline!
The Moraeki Boulders are truly unique! I hope to see them before they all come loose. I like that the botanic garden has a cacti greenhouse because there is no way the citizen can plant it in their yard. I learned another new thing from you today, Dunedin is the oldest town in New Zealand.
I was in Christchurch in New Zealand and always thought to make a trip back there. When I do, I will be sure to include Dunedin. The Moraeki boulders are definitely worth seeing and I am interested to explore that beautiful train station too. I am curious about the steepest residential street in the world too!
The railway station in Dunedin looks more like a palace than a building with such a humble role. No matter is the most photograph place in Dunedin. I don’t think I have ever seen an albatross in the wild, so I driving to Taiaroa Head and Lighthouse would be high on my itinerary, especially that there are guided tours available. Trying to walk Baldwin street uphil, as fast as possible, would also be a fun activity.
I’ve never been to New Zealand but I’d love to visit one day! It looks so gorgeous and picturesque. Thanks for sharing all your recommendations for this area!
The rugged coastline and botanical gardens look amazing! Thanks for these great tips!
We have not explored Dunedin during our New Zealand trip – it seems there is a lot to see. I love visiting railway stations – they quite often have such a wonderful inspirational architecture and they always have such a great atmosphere with trains coming and going. The Moraeki Boulders look quite strange indeed – I would not want to miss that too.
Oops! I think I was mispronouncing this in my head when I planned our trip to Kiwiland! Thanks for sharing the pronunciation!
At first we planned to visit Dunedin (mostly because I waned to visit the Moraeki Boulders…) but in the end we drove the other way (through the middle via Lake Tekapo, rather than along the coast. Next time I’ll make sure we come this way too. The scenery is so pretty!