Tailor-made Coastal Otago & Southland: Introduction

Whether it is bird watching on Stewart Island, traversing through the wild wetlands of the south, monitoring marine life on the Otago Peninsula or indulging in the local fare served in Dunedin’s fine restaurants, this region presents a host of contrasting experiences. Much of the landscape remains untouched, only sparsely populated, and it is here that you can discover a castle in Dunedin, dramatic cliffs in the Catlins, and national parks bursting with birdlife.

Along the Southern Scenic Route and the Catlins Coastal Heritage Trail you will be presented with places of historic interest and geological phenomenon – a petrified forest embedded in the coastal bedrock at Curio Bay. Other delights to explore are the wrought-iron viaducts of the Taieri Gorge and the woodland gardens of the Otago Peninsula. At Bluff, the southern tip, you can sample the renowned Bluff oysters or travel to the demigod Maui’s anchor stone, Stewart Island.

The two cities, Dunedin and Invercargill, are a stark contrast to the wild lands that encase them. Speckled with elegant Victorian and Edwardian buildings, it is here that you get a sense of how the British settlers must have longed for home, creating for themselves a diminutive version.

Selected Highlights

Our specialists have travelled the length and breadth of the country to research the best places to stay and things to do. Here they list a few of their favourite “unmissables”. Click here for more highlights

Discover the heritage architecture in Dunedin

Dunedin was once the wealthiest city in New Zealand, and is home to some of the best preserved Victorian and Edwardian architecture in the Southern...  [more]

See the ancient Moeraki Boulders

One of the coast’s most interesting features is the ancient boulders at Moeraki. According to Maori legend these were washed ashore from the waka...  [more]

Explore rural Stewart and Ulva Islands

Stewart Island sits at the bottom of the South Island and here the pace of life slows down yet another notch. For those who love wildlife a visit to...  [more]