Dunedin City and Otago Peninsula: Small Group Tour Exploring Heritage, Wildlife, and Larnach Castle
4.7
59 Ratings
Dunedin
Discover the wonders of Dunedin City and Otago Peninsula on a full-day small group tour. Explore heritage sites, wildlife, Larnach Castle, and more!
Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Baldwin Street - The Steepest Street in the World - Baldwin Street is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the steepest street in the world.

  • University of Otago - University of Otago, which was built in 1879. The registry, however, is most famous for its clock tower: a prominent feature that overlooks the entire university like a shining beacon.

  • The Octagon - Visit portrait statue of Robert Burns. Four versions exist, in New York City (United States), Dundee (Scotland), London (England), and Dunedin (New Zealand).

  • First Church of Otago - Designed by R. A Lawson, this prominent Gothic style church sits right at the heart of Dunedin city. Its construction process, which started in 1867 and finished in 1875.

  • Dunedin Railway Station - Widely regarded as one of the finest pieces of Edwardian Baroque style architecture in New Zealand, the Railway Station is one of the most photographed landmarks in the country.

  • Larnach Castle & Gardens - Situated on the picturesque Otago Peninsula, Larnach Castle is one of New Zealand’s premier visitor attractions.

Lovingly restored by the Barker Family, the Castle and surrounding grounds are at the heart of the Dunedin visitor experience.

We will stop for lunch break at the Larnach Castle Ballroom Café.

  • Hoopers Inlet - Hoopers Inlet - unique scenery and the opportunity to view a wide range of birdlife with nearby Allans Beach frequently offering the viewing of sealions.

Respect their needs by keeping at least 10 m away from sleeping sea lions, and 20 m from active animals. Do not linger on beaches at dawn And dusk where penguins may come ashore.

  • Allans Beach - Allans Beach is one of many wild, rugged and beautiful beaches on the Otago Peninsula. It is frequented by New Zealand fur seals, New Zealand sea lions, and yellow-eyed penguins. The public are urged to keep at least 10 meter’s (33 ft) away from these animals.

Visitors encountering yellow-eyed penguins are asked to crouch down so as not to disturb them.

Self-guided walk to the beach. Wildlife sighting no 100% guarantee.

  • The Royal Albatross Centre - The Royal Albatross Centre, at Taiaroa head is the only mainland breeding colony of Royal Albatross in the world.

Albatross are the world’s largest seabirds. They normally breed on remote islands and spend about 85% of their lives at sea, well away from land and humans. They travel vast distances from their breeding grounds to feed. With a massive 3 metre wingspan, they fly an estimated 190,000 kilometres a year.

The breeding birds arrive at Taiaroa Head on Otago Peninsula in September. They nest during early November and within the following three weeks an egg is laid, one only per pair, every two years.
The young Royal Albatross will spend the next 3 to 5 years at sea, never touching land during that time. Many then return to this unique headland to start another generation of Royals.
Chance to view flying Albatross but no guarantee sighting.

  • Taiaroa Head - Taiaroa Head is a headland at the tip of the Otago Peninsula offering visitors spectacular views of the surrounding unique landscape overlooking the mouth of the Otago Harbour. It is home to a historic lighthouse, built in 1864, and a colony of over 100 northern royal albatrosses.

The headland is named after Te Matenga Taiaroa, a 19th-century Māori chief. Pukekura, a significant Māori pā was located on the headland, established back in 1650s and still occupied by Māori in the 1840s.

The area has an abundance of unique wildlife including dusky dolphins, orcas and migratory large whales including humpbacks. Their sightings in the areas are on the increase and Taiaroa Head is one of the best vantage points along the Otago coast.

Ruins of former coastal defences are located nearby, notably a restored Armstrong Disappearing Gun emplacement built in 1886 following a scare that New Zealand might be invaded by the Russians.

What's Included
  • Private transportation
  • Hotel (Dunedin City) / Port Chalmers pickup and drop-off
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
Additional Information

Explore spectacular Dunedin city and Otago Peninsula on this full-day small group tour. Visit Baldwin St (steepest street in the world), the University of Otago and Dunedin’s famous Scottish heritage sites. Then we will travel alongside the picturesque Otago harbor and take a lunch break at Ballroom Caf and visit the beautiful and historic Larnach Castle and Castle garden. We then drive through typically rugged and beautiful Otago wilderness to Hoopers Inlet swamp and near by Allans Beach to observe the unique birdlife and wildlife. We then drive to Taiaroa Head to visit the blue fairy penguin colony at Pilot Beach and the albatross sanctuary.

  • Chinese tour guides available
Location
Dunedin Railway Station
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(59 Ratings)
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Ccator
Mar 29, 2024
Wonderful excursion! - This was a wonderful excursion! Lucy was our guide and she was great! I would highly recommend this excursion!
Review provided by Viator
Gladys_c
Feb 28, 2024
Experience Dunedin the best way - We had an outstanding time in Dunedin. We had plenty of time to see and enjoy the sites we were interested in. Highly recommend using this company.
Review provided by Viator
Linda_m
Feb 11, 2024
Great tour, great guide. - We covered the area: Dunedin, Larnach castle, the wildlife, the port. Our guide was excellent. She was flexible and willing to tailor the tour to our interests.
Review provided by Viator
Bernadette_b
Jan 26, 2024
Seeing the sea lions and... - Seeing the sea lions and Larnach Castle. Our tour guide Lucy was wonderful. Very enjoyable tour. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Andra_b
Jan 24, 2024
Amazing tour! - Lucy was an amazing tour guide and driver! She took us to so many places in such little time so thank you so much for putting in all the effort in organizing this! Our favorite place must be Larnach castle and its gardens. They were so well kept and thankfully, due to the nice weather we had, our walk there was something to remember fondly. Thanks so much Lucy!
Review provided by Viator
Mark_b
Jan 16, 2024
Like that five plus plus Stars - I couldn't say which is the best part because Lucy was excellent and took us everywhere explaining everything. Even a church which wasn't on the tour she gladly stopped at to let us go in and look around. I would highly recommend this tour especially if Lucy is your guy. It was a small intimate tour not those huge 45 bucks tours where everyone is running to get on and off
Review provided by Viator
Roving18996639473
Jan 15, 2024
Great tour! - A fantastic day where we were able to see many different things in and around Dunedin. Lucy shared her knowledge of the local area and was informative and interesting. We really enjoyed seeing the different buildings in Dunedin, the wildlife and also Larnach Castle. The views of the area were also beautiful. Thank you Lucy for a wonderful day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Otto_k
Jan 14, 2024
Great tour - Lucy, our guide & driver, was very professional and shared a lot of information. I highly recommend this tour. We only had 4 total in our group, which made it ideal. We saw a lot in our short time there. Larnach Castle views from the tower are beautiful.
Review provided by Viator
T1244fdkimm
Jan 9, 2024
Excellent tour for Dunedin Sites and Wildlife - We saw sea lions, many different birds and lots of sheep! Our guide brought us to multiple spots in Dunedin, including Larnach Castle, Baldwin Street (steepest in the world), and a couple of shallow inlets. The vistas all around were stunning!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tvlbumfairview_texas
Feb 18, 2024
Dunedin City, Wildlife and Larnach Castle - The tour was carefully planned and we had a wonderful time. However, this tour would have been much better had we had a guide to accompany us to the sites we visited. We had dinner with a couple that did basically the same tour with a guide that DID accompany them and they learned a lot and knew so much that we did not.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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