8 ReviewsArrowtown was well publicised as .....
New Zealand's only living historic gold mining town , so we decided to go for the short 20 minute drive on a wet day, and check it out.
Arrowtown is an old...
2 ReviewsPort Chalmers is located on the north shore of Otago harbour and is the deep water port for Otago. A short, 15 minute drive from Dunedin, and we were here!
We found a nice lookout here, where my...
3 ReviewsMilford Sound is a stunning body of still dark waters from which rise forest covered sheer cliffs to a height of up to 1,692 metres.
The township itself is fairly unimpressive despite the grandeur...
1 ReviewIf you have a car, then a drive to the summit of Mount Cargill, northeast of the city, is a must. The views from here are expansive and you can see the entire Otago Peninsula and harbour. To the north...
3 ReviewsWanaka is a small town situated at the southern end of Lake Wanaka and was originally settled during the gold rush excitement of the 19th century.
It is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Parkand...
1 ReviewOn the Otago Peninsula, Larnach Castle is open daily for both guided and independent tours and has a huge collection of New Zealand antiques, situated within 35 acres of gardens and grounds. The...
2 ReviewsEven if you don't dare to do a bungy jump, you can walk around the Bungy Centre with exhibitions on the history and equipment used for bungy jump.
The surrounding is very beautiful. You can take...
1 ReviewGlenfalloch means 'peaceful valley' and this place is indeed just that. The gardens are free (donations welcome) and there is plenty of parking. They are only a short drive from Dunedin along the...
1 ReviewWaipapa Point is one of several places along the Catlins Coast where it is possible to see Hooker’s Sea Lions. These endangered animals are found mostly at the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands, but a...
1 ReviewThe Albatross has long been a creature of reverence and superstition. Well before Coleridge penned his 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner', seafarers believed that when their captains died their souls took...
Duntroon, located in the Waitaki Valley between Oamaru and Omarama feels a bit like an open-air museum. Wandering around between an historic blacksmith’s shop, three churches and an old gaol you are surprised to meet real people living there ;-) The Waitaki Valley is popular with boaties and for fishing, with the hydro power lakes Benmore, Aviemore and Waitaki. Duntroon is the centre of a big number of geological finds which have been listed on the so-called Vanished World Fossil Trail. (I have published tips about the most outstanding examples of this trail: the Elephant Rocks, the Anatini Whale Bone Fossil site, and the Takiroa Maori Rock Art site.) Right in Duntroon is the Vanished World Visitor Centre.But Duntroon is more. As said, it looks like uninhabited, with all those unique buildings, some of them sitting in wide open spaces, like fallen from the sky. They have been lovingly...
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Takiroa Maori Rock Paintings
by Kakapo2
The Takiroa Rock Art Site is a sacred place for the Ngai Tahu, the South Island’s major Maori tribe. It is located in the Waitaki Valley, along SH 83, between Oamaru and Omarama, about 3 or 4 km west of the township of Duntroon. (Parking bays on both sides of the road.)The limestone outcrops alone are already fantastic. The main rock looks like a sponge, and birds, especially sparrows, are nesting in the holes at the moment. I consider this rock art site a lot more interesting than the one you would find near the start of the Danseys Pass Road on the way to the Elephant Rocks.The Takiroa site is said to be the remains of the sacred fire of Tamatea-Pokai-Whenua (ahi tapu o Tamatea), the great early Maori explorer. He walked the land making fire as he went. As the fire cooled down, mounds of pale white ash were left in their place. So far the legend.Several of the rock paintings were taken...
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Anatini Whale Fossil Site
by Kakapo2
This place is part of the Vanished World Trail from Duntroon in the Waitaki Valley.It features baleen whale bones, reminding us that this part of the world once lay under the sea some 25 million years ago. To be perfectly honest: We found the whale bone display slightly disappointing. We had expected… well, the fossil of a whole whale… Not just some small parts of the skeleton enclosed in a small plastic display box – which itself looks strange in the middle of the remote landscape.However, if you squeeze your nose against the about one metre long plexiglass box you can recognise some bone fossils, a vertebrae, and a part of the scull.The whale display sits on private farmland and is surrounded by lots of interestingly shaped blocks of Otekaike limestone.It is only one kilometre from the more spectacular Elephant Rocks. Directions:If you come from Duntroon, just carry on after the...
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Elephant Rocks from the Sub-Sea Age
by Kakapo2
The Elephant Rocks near the little township of Duntroon in the Waitaki Valley (between Oamaru and Omarama) are part of quite a number of interesting remains of the era when the area was still covered by the sea. You find lots of fossils... no, let's say, a lot of fossils of whales, dolphins and other sea creatures were found in this region which have been transported to various museums. The Elephant Rocks are strangely shaped limestone formations sitting on private land near the Danseys Pass Road (see extra tip). They are not blocked off for the public, you have free access over farmland. Parking is along the road, and the walk is just 100 or 200 metres. Of course, if you want to get closer to the rocks, you can easily do a loop walk of a kilometre or more.A comparison with Castle Hill:If you do not go to Arthurs Pass and therefore do not see Castle Hill (more info about this on my...
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A Shark-toothed Dolphin at Duntroon
by ronlaughlin
Here is an article I wrote on the Elephant Rocks area...... On the Road – Time Travel (A Twenty-five Million Year Old Odyssey)“What is that?” I asked. “Would you believe it is a shark-toothed dolphin?” he answered. We were in the middle of South Island farmland 400 metres above sea level miles from the ocean.Millions of years ago the cataclysmic geological past of New Zealand provided us with some of the most unique and fantastic natural wonders on earth. The sea deposited layers of marine sand and mud seventy million years ago in what is now the Waitaki Valley region when it was under hundreds of metres of water. As time evolved volcanoes created deposits and then eroded. Limestone formed in the shallow seas of 25 million years ago. Fish, penguins, dolphins and whales, that were the local inhabitants, died and their remains came to rest in the sand and mud.The most exciting geological...
Ghost Towns of the Goldrush
by Kakapo2
Gold was first found in Otago in 1861, and this started the gold rush which swept over the country at a time of deep economic depression. 50 years later the big rush was over, and 100 years later there was nearly no gold output in NZ for about 40 years. Goldmines that have been left more than 100 years ago are kept as historic places, or ghosttowns of which Otago has plenty.On 23 May 1861 a man from Tasmania named Gabriel Read, equipped with a pan and a butcher's knife, collected about seven ounces of gold in ten hours work in the valley that today bears his name. He wrote poetically that he "saw the gold shining like the stars in Orion on a dark frosty night".Gabriel's Gully Roundtrip starts in Lawrence on SH 8, 35 kms west of Milton (SH 1, south of Dunedin). There are the Lawrence flourmill site, the Blue Spur Treasure House, the Pick and Shovel Monument, Jacobs Ladder (a steep rise)...
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A Lonely Day around the Sunken World of Waipori
by Kakapo2
In mid-summer you might meet people swimming, fishing, or picknicking but at other times of the year it can happen that you do not see anybody on this round-trip from Dunedin which takes several hours because most of it is on a sometimes slippery gravel road.From Dunedin drive to Mosgiel and follow SH 87, turn left after approx. 25kms towards Lee Flat. On the next stretch I stopped at nearly every corner to take photos of the rolling hills, some dry, some irrigated, and white dots from big sheep herds everywhere, dramatic clouds, a rainbow... When you approach Lake Mahinerangi drive straight ahead and do NOT turn left towards Waipori Forest, this leads back to SH 87.When you come to Thornicroft Station, take the left fork downhill to the lake which is artificial and has been created for hydroelectric power generation. It has an intricate shoreline. When Lake Mahinerangi, namend after the...
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Cromwell
by pepples46
an other Fruitbowl for New Zealand ..we get our cheeries on Christmas from here :-)) its a very pleasant little town, very friendly people and the food....excellent and plentyfull..they know how to feed a hungry mouth!! the clock goes a little slower. life should not be rushed anyway...which suits me just fine.Backpackers have a good chance to boost their vallets, working in the Orchards....its not an easy job, but well paid.don't miss such places like Cromwell, Balclutha, Alexandra or Gore, essential New Zealand!
Lake Dunstan
by pepples46
Cromwells Beach, recreational center piece of the area, waterskiing, boating and what have you in Summer.have a walk around the lake, which had been floaded when the Clyde Dam was build. the old buildings where pulled down and build up again on a safe landsite. like the old Cromwell Museum, with its artefacts of the beginning of settlement in Otago, the goldrush days and more.Wintertime is curling time, if ....the ice is safe enough, which it is most years. you will not die of boredom in Otago at what ever time or season :-)
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Dansey's Pass
by pepples46
an old cattledrive, but wide enough for cars, rugged and wild. from Ranfurly Town in the Maniototo, ask at the Gas Station, they might have a look at you and your vehicle..car that is. a 4X4 would be ideal with no problems whatsoever, a normal car is more fun. there is a fine Hotel and Restaurant halfway and the road quite good, the on drive is where the fun starts....you arrive in Duntroon on the other side, a wonderful recreational area with great fishing, swimming and boating possibilities. but I do not recommend driving the Pass with your boat pulling...have a look at the map
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