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Top Attractions in Otago Region

Dunedin

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. While Tauranga, Napier-Hastings and Hamilton have eclipsed the city in population in recent years to make it only the seventh largest city in New Zealand, Dunedin is still considered to be one of the four main cities of New Zealand for historic, cultural and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until superseded by Auckland on the creation of the Auckland Council in November 2010. Dunedin was the largest city in New Zealand by population until about 1900. The city population at 5 March 2013 was 120,246. The Dunedin urban area lies on the central-eastern coast of Otago, surrounding the head of Otago Harbour. The harbour and hills around Dunedin are the remnants of an extinct volcano. The city suburbs extend out into the surrounding valleys and hills, onto the isthmus of the Otago Peninsula, and along the shores of the Otago Harbour and the Pacific Ocean. The city's largest industry is tertiary education Dunedin is home to the University of Otago, New Zealand's first university , and the Otago Polytechnic. Students account for a large proportion of the population; 21.6 percent of the city's population was aged between 15 and 24 at the 2006 census, compared to the New Zealand average of 14.2 percent. In 2014, Dunedin was designated as a UNESCO Creative City of Literature.

Lake Wakatipu

Lake Wakatipu is an inland lake in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago Region, near its boundary with Southland. Lake Wakatipu comes from the original Māori word Whakatipu wai-māori. With a length of 80 kilometres, it is New Zealands longest lake, and, at 291 km2, its third largest. The lake is also very deep, its floor being below sea level, with a maximum depth of 380 metres . It is at an altitude of 310 metres, towards the southern end of the Southern Alps. The general topography is a reversed "N" shape or "dog leg". The Dart River flows into the northern end, the lake then runs south for 30 kilometres before turning abruptly to the east. Twenty kilometres further along, it turns sharply to the south, reaching its southern end 30 kilometres further south, near Kingston. The lake is drained by the Kawarau River, which flows out from the lakes Frankton Arm, 8 km east of Queenstown. Until about 18,000 years ago the Mataura River drained Lake Wakatipu. The Kingston Flyer follows part of the former river bed now blocked by glacial moraine . Queenstown is on the northern shore of the lake close to eastern end of its middle section. It has a seiche of period 26.7 minutes which, in Queenstown Bay, causes the water level to rise and fall some 200 millimetres . Lake Wakatipu is renowned for its scenic beauty, being surrounded by mountains. The Remarkables mountain range lies along its southeastern edge. It is a popular venue for adventure tourism, with skifields, paragliding, bungy jumping and tramping tracks within easy reach. A vintage steamboat, the TSS Earnslaw regularly plies its waters. Several vineyards are nearby in the Gibbston Valley.

Queenstown

Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is built around an inlet called Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin Z-shaped lake formed by glacial processes, and has spectacular views of nearby mountains such as The Remarkables, Cecil Peak, Walter Peak and just above the town; Ben Lomond and Queenstown Hill. Queenstown has an urban population of 13,150 , making it the 29th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the third largest urban area in Otago, behind Dunedin and Oamaru. The Queenstown-Lakes District has a land area of 8,704.97 square kilometres not counting its inland lakes (Lake Hāwea, Lake Wakatipu, and Lake Wanaka). The region has an estimated resident population of 32,400 . Its neighbouring towns include Arrowtown, Glenorchy, Kingston, Wanaka, Alexandra, and Cromwell. The nearest cities are Dunedin and Invercargill. Queenstown is now known for its commerce-oriented tourism, especially adventure and ski tourism. It is popular with New Zealand, Australian and international travellers alike.

Puzzling World

Stuart Landsboroughs Puzzling World is a tourist attraction near Wanaka, New Zealand. It started out as just a single level maze in 1973, but over the years expanded to add overbridges to the maze design, a large "puzzling café" where guests could try out several puzzles, five large rooms of optical illusions, the Leaning Tower of Wanaka and other attractions that ascribe to their theme of "puzzling eccentricity". The optical illusion rooms include a set of rooms built at a 15 degree angle, containing illusions such as water apparently flowing uphill, the octagonal "Hall of Following Faces" with spot-lit hollow mask illusions on the walls, and a perspectively confusing room with a delayed video feed where visitors can see themselves afterwards with seemingly different heights depending on where they were positioned in the room. The operators of Puzzling World have for many years offered a monetary prize for anybody who can prove themselves to have psychic powers; all a potential winner needs to do is use their powers to locate a specific item located somewhere in Puzzling Worlds environs. To date the $100,000 prize goes unclaimed, although seven "professional" psychics have attempted the challenge. Puzzling World features a large maze in which the traveller must reach four corner towers before finding the middle courtyard .

Gibbston

Gibbston is a community in the Gibbston Valley which is part of the Wakatipu Basin in the Otago Region of the South Island, New Zealand. Through the valley runs the Kawarau River which forms the Kawarau Gorge. The most visible aspect of the area are the vineyards and wineries next to SH6 which form part of the Central Otago wine region. The Gibbston Valley is the coolest and highest of the Central Otago regions with the majority of land gently sloping to the north. This northerly aspect greatly assists vineyards to grow grapes because of increased sunlight and with a reduced possibility of frost, although this still poses a significant threat. It was voted community of the year in 2011 due to the work on the Gibbston River Trail. The Gibbston River Trail and the Gibbston Highway Trail are walking/running and cycling trails that give good access to the wineries in the area but also connect to The Queenstown Trail at the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge. Often Gibbston is incorrectly called Gibbston Valley or Gibbston Flats due to the land being the only flat usable land in the Kawarau Gorge.

Clyde

Clyde is a small town in Central Otago, New Zealand with a population of 918 in 2006. It is located on the Clutha River, between Cromwell and Alexandra. Clyde grew up around the former settlement of Dunstan during the Central Otago goldrush of the 1860s. The town could once claim to be the most populous in New Zealand during the height of gold fever. The town's post office was officially renamed from Dunstan to Clyde on 22 May 1865, after Lord Clyde. More recently the town has been known for the Clyde Dam, a giant hydroelectric dam at the north end of the town, behind which lies Lake Dunstan. The Clutha River is the swiftest river in the southern hemisphere. The river then runs to the Roxburgh Dam before finally meeting the sea at Balclutha. The town is a popular holiday spot. It lies at the western end of the Otago Central Rail Trail. The Otago Central Branch Railway originally terminated at Cromwell, but this section of the railway was closed in 1980, with the railway to Clyde used to bring materials for the dam project. The rail trail is nowadays often cycled and walked by visitors and locals alike. The township is home to Dunstan Hospital, serving the surrounding district, including Alexandra and Cromwell. The hospital was rebuilt in 2006 with the original building remaining. Clyde is fast becoming known as a tourist haven. The location is particularly attractive to those visiting the region's many vineyards and orchards. The regional weather is particularly warm and dry during the summer months due to the rain shadow effect caused by the Southern Alps (given New Zealand's westerly winds). There is a single school in Clyde, the Clyde Primary School. The closest high school is Dunstan High School, which is situated 10 km away in Alexandra. The closest university is Otago University 200 km away in Dunedin. During the week beginning 22 September, the Clyde/Alexandra district hosts a Blossom Festival. This event celebrates the beginning of spring which brings the blossoming of fruit trees in the area's orchards. Entertainment at the festival includes a parade with floats made by local businesses, fun park rides, bands and drag races.

Tunnel Beach

Tunnel Beach is a locality 7.5 kilometres southwest of the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located just south of St Clair, Tunnel Beach has sea-carved sandstone cliffs, rock arches and caves. Beyond the beauty of the rugged sandstone cliffs, its claim to fame is the tunnel down to the beach that a local politician, John Cargill, son of Captain William Cargill, had commissioned for his family in the 1870s. Access to the beach is via a track across private farmland, and is open year round excluding lambing season from August to October. The track was opened in 1983, and is a popular walking track. It descends from 150 metres above sea level at its start, a short distance off Blackhead Road, winding for some 1200 metres to the top of the tunnel close to a natural sea arch. The tunnel descends 72 steps to the beach, and is dimly naturally lit. Note that the path down is steep and can be very slippery following wet weather.

White Island

White Island is the name of two islands off the New Zealand coast. The smaller and less well known lies 2,500 metres off the coast of Otago, within the boundaries of the city of Dunedin. The island is 80 metres in length and 30 metres wide at its widest point, covering 1,600 square metres and rising to a height of approximately 15 metres . A rocky reef, parts of which break the surface at low tide, extends for 100 metres from the western end of the island. The island is uninhabited, and is a well-known landmark visible from the city's two inner city beaches at St. Clair and St. Kilda. The island's Māori name is Ponuiahine also given as 'Pomuiahine'. It has been translated, probably too literally, as 'The girl's great night' giving rise to witty suggestions as to why that might be. Goodall and Griffiths suggested it should be understood as 'Pou-nui-a-Hine, referring to a post being a memorial to some significant event involving Hine'. They observe 'Hine' can be a man's name but clearly this suggestion leaves open the original ribald speculations. As a place for a lovers' tryst it seems unpromising. White Island may be the 'Ragged Rock' where the Sydney sealer Brothers, chartered by Robert Campbell and under the command of Robert Mason landed three men out of a gang of eleven in November 1809. William Tucker who later settled at Whareakeake , near Otago Heads, was in the gang. Alternatively Ragged Rock may be Green Island . On May the first 1826 Thomas Shepherd, keeping a journal as he approached this coast as nurseryman to the first New Zealand Company's settlement expedition in the Rosanna, accompanied by the Lambton, said he 'saw two remarkable Sugar loaf Rocks in the sea near the shore about 100 feet high'. A man was sent ashore and came back with a Māori man called Tatawa who 'said he belonged to Otago'. Shepherd later confirmed this was the part of the coast he was talking about. There is a reef south of White Island where the sea may be seen breaking. Presumably in the 1820s it too rose well above the sea. By the time of Dunedin's settlement in 1848 there was only the single island visible now. Following the Russian scare in the early 1880s an Armstrong Disappearing gun like the one still at Taiaroa Head was installed at Forbury Head above St. Clair. Apparently White Island was used for target practice which may have reduced it and made it more rugged than it was before.

Cargill's Castle

The ruins of Cargills Castle stand on a promontory overlooking the Pacific Ocean in New Zealands southern city of Dunedin. It is one of only two castles in New Zealand, the other being nearby Larnach Castle. More a castle in name than in fact, this Italianate mansion was built for Edward Cargill, eighth child of city founder William Cargill, in the late 19th century, who called it The Cliffs. Designed by the architect Francis Petre, and built by Harry Lyders at a cost of £14,000, it was completed in 1877. The building was gutted by a fire in 1892, Cargill restored the castle but was unable to meet the cost of replacing all the wooden furnishings, though he did add a ballroom. The castle had several owners after Cargills death in 1903, and was opened as a restaurant and cabaret in the 1930s by John Hutton, which became popular with visiting servicemen during World War II. Plans have been made on several occasions to restore the building to its former glory, but none have yet borne fruit. The castle now lies in ruins, a shell of what it once was. There is no public access to the site. Several kilometres south of the castle is Tunnel Beach, so named because this quiet beach is only accessible through a steeply sloping tunnel cut into the 60-metre high cliffs by the Cargill family. The beach is reached via a public walking track, some six kilometres southwest of the city centre.

Mount Cargill

Mount Cargill, known in Māori as Kapukataumahaka, is a 676-metre-high volcanic outcrop which dominates the skyline of northern Dunedin, New Zealand. It is situated some 15 kilometres north of the city centre. The peak is named for Captain William Cargill, an early leader of the Province of Otago. It is one of the youngest parts of the massive extinct Dunedin shield volcano and was formed some 10 million years ago. From the summit, views can be obtained of the entire Dunedin urban area, as well as a considerable stretch of open countryside and much of Otago's coastline, from Shag Point near Palmerston to Nugget Point in The Catlins. Particularly notable is the view of the Otago Peninsula and Otago Harbour, the entire length of which can be seen from the summit. To the northeast of Mount Cargill's peak are several smaller peaks including Mount Zion, Mount Holmes and Buttar's Peak. Māori legend tells of the mountain showing the profile of a prominent warrior, and indeed from Dunedin Buttar's Peak and Mount Cargill between them do form the outline of a reclining figure, with Buttar's Peak being the head and Mount Cargill the body. A rough road from the end of Pine Hill Road provides vehicular access to the summit, and several walking tracks also lead to the top, notably a 4-kilometre walk from Bethune's Gully in North East Valley at the northern end of Dunedin's urban area and a 6-kilometre walk though Graham's Bush, which starts in Sawyers Bay close to Port Chalmers. These tracks pass through regenerating native bush and volcanic outcrops before a sharp climb along the northern flank immediately below the summit. The tracks pass two significant points of interest. One of these is a prominent formation of columnar jointed basalt known as the Organ Pipes. Similar outcrops are found elsewhere in the Dunedin area, at Blackhead near Waldronville and at Second Beach, Saint Clair. The second point of interest is the small temperate cloud forest which dominates the vegetation of the upper slopes. Though not a true cloud forest, in that it is not tropical, it bears many of the hallmarks of true cloud forest, with abundant moss and fern cover under thick low canopy. The cloud forest is protected within a 1.8-square-kilometre reserve, which includes the peak of the mountain as well as several secondary peaks. Although the tracks are easy , care should be taken by walkers, as the weather conditions on Mount Cargill are notoriously unpredictable and can change very rapidly.

McLean Falls

The McLean Falls on the Tautuku River in Catlins Forest Park descend a number of steep drop offs and terraces, with the very top of the waterfall, where it meets its first waterpool being 22-metres. It then descends for many more metres over a series of terraces. The McLean Falls are often described as the most spectacular in the region, with its sister waterfall, Purakanui being the most visited, due to it being more easily accessible. The entrance to the McLean Falls River Walk is three kilometres from the Southern Scenic Route on Rewcastle Road. The track from the road to the falls passes through a variety of native forest and shrub types: Rimu, Kamahi, divaricating shrubland, huge tree fuchsia, stands of olearia and podocarp forest. A footbridge then crosses the subsidiary, Duckaday Creek, named by the early settler, Doug McLean, who used to bathe in it from time to time. The walk follows an easy grade along the Tautuku River valley with views of the river and bush. The path, including boardwalks and footbridges, is maintained by the Department of Conservation and is regularly gravelled.

Dunedin Gasworks Museum

Dunedin Gasworks Museum is located in South Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. The museum is housed in the Engine House of the former Dunedin Gasworks in Braemar Street, close to Cargills Corner, which operated from 1863 until 1987. The Dunedin Gasworks were the first in New Zealand and also the last to cease production. At its peak in the 1970s coal gas was provided to over 18,000 customers in the city. The Edwardian buildings of the gasworks were saved by a trust headed by Elizabeth Hinds, Director of the Otago Settlers Museum, and are now listed by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I Historic Place. The museum is one of only a handful of known preserved gasworks museums in the world. The conserved Engine House features a working boiler house, fitting shop and a unique collection of five stationary steam engines. There are also displays of domestic and industrial gas appliances. The museum was opened on 3 February 2001 in a ceremony attended by Dr. George Emerson, Chair of the Dunedin Gasworks Museum Trust, and Sir Neil Cossons, Chairman of English Heritage.

Skippers Canyon

Skippers Canyon is a historic and scenic gorge, some 22 kilometres in length, that is located several kilometres north of Queenstown. Today accessed from Queenstown via the same road that leads to Coronet Peak skifield, Skippers Canyon houses the Shotover River, one of New Zealands richest gold-bearing rivers which was named by William Gilbert Rees. Rees, his wife Frances and brother-in-law Nicholas von Tunzelmann were the first European settlers in and near where Queenstown is now located. Once a busy goldmining area, Skippers Canyon was accessed by Skippers Road, which is today one of New Zealands better known scenic roads. The main New Zealand road where rental car insurance is not honoured if driven on, Skippers Road is mostly one-way, narrow and steep with sheer drops of several hundred metres. Apart from its goldmining history, Skippers Canyon was also the site where electricity was first generated at a place called Bullendale, a small former goldmining settlement some 4 hours walk from the farthest end of Skippers Road.

Mount Aspiring / Tititea

Mount Aspiring / Tititea is New Zealands highest mountain outside the Aoraki/Mount Cook region. Set within Otagos Mount Aspiring National Park, it has a height of 3,033 metres . Māori named it Tititea, which translates as Glistening Peak. Named in December 1857 by the Chief Surveyor for the Otago Province, John Turnbull Thomson. It is also often called the Matterhorn of the South, for its pyramidal peak when seen from the Matukituki River. The first ascent was on 23 November 1909 by Major Bernard Head and guides Jack Clarke and Alec Graham. Heads party climbed to the summit ridge by the west face from the Bonar Glacier, a route not repeated until 1965. Mount Aspiring / Tititea sits slightly to the west of the main divide, 30 kilometres west of Lake Wanaka. It lies at the junction of three major glacial systems — the Bonar Glacier, which drains into the Waipara River, and the Volta and Therma Glaciers, which both drain into the Waitoto River. The Waipara is a tributary of the Arawhata River, and both the Arawhata and Waitoto Rivers flow out to the west coast in between Haast and Jackson Bay. The most used route to Mount Aspiring is up the West Matukituki Valley, which is at the end of a 50-kilometre road from Wanaka at Raspberry Flat. From here a network of huts provide staging points for climbers. The first is Mount Aspiring Hut, which is 8 kilometres from the end of the road. The next hut is an 8-12hr hike away that is mainly off trail. The trail only provides a route for the first half of the approach that winds through the flat valley floor. From the end of the trail one can either ascend the French Ridge and traverse the Bonar Glacier, or ascend Bevan Col to the Bonar Glacier. Both require good route finding skills and knowledge of rock climbing techniques and glacial travel. Many climbers opt to fly in via helicopter because of the grueling approach.
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