Two young sisters pose near a wall of Oamaru white stone outside the University of Otago's library in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Written by Mod Fam on June 15, 2019

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand

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Recommendations for Your South Island New Zealand Itinerary

Any South Island road trip should include things to do in Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula. Whether you have just a day or a week or two, you’ll find a variety of activities that rivals Christchurch and Wellington, including the South Island’s largest covered stadium a short walk from campus. The Otago peninsula juts out into the Pacific, home to yellow-eyed penguin colonies and albatross, the enormous sea-going birds that fly to the tip of South America and back to nest at the edge of the peninsula. Small villages and farms line the curvy road on either side of the inlet and bay. Walking tracks lead right out of town and up into the hills from North Dunedin, and the city centre radiates out from the Octagon and historic buildings that date from early Scottish settlement. The old town is an exact replica of Dun-Edin’s namesake, Edinburgh, and Scottish streets like Princes and George Streets mirror Edinburgh’s layout, despite the more hilly topography along the New Zealand coast. (When we visited Edinburgh a few years ago, we easily found our way around Princes street and the surrounding area because we were so familiar with Dunedin).

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Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A red sculpture sits in front of a contemporary, modern classroom building with extensive glass panels at Dunedin, New Zealand's University of Otago campus.

Dunedin is one of the South Island’s two largest cities (Christchurch is the other large city, four hours North) and home to the University of Otago, one of New Zealand’s top-ranked research universities. The university campus combines new architecture and old, including the iconic clocktower building that houses administrative offices across the Water Leith from classroom buildings and glass-covered, contemporary architecture. If you stay in Dunedin, it’s worth walking around campus; start at the library with its four-story Oamaru whitestone exterior and walk along the central path through campus to the wide bridge over the Leith. Continue down through the covered archway near the clocktower and the Gingerbread houses before crossing back over the Leith to the large red sculpture and a gorgeous view of the clocktower building from the grassy lawn on the Leith.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A mother and her daughter stand across the Water Leith from Dunedin, New Zealand's University of Otago Clocktower, one of the oldest structures on the university campus, now houses administrative offices. The iconic clocktower building is constructed with black stone and Oamaru whitestone, and sits overlooking the Leith in the centre of campus.

From the university, check out the Dunedin Railway Station, supposedly the most photographed building in New Zealand. Dark black volcanic block contrasts with the Oamaru white stone used to construct the exterior. An upstairs gallery features a variety of local artists’ work for sale, and you can wander downtown a few blocks for some great local restaurants like ironic café and bar on 9 Anzac Avenue, the Supreme Winner of the New Zealand Café of the year a few years back.

Outside of Dunedin, you’ll find endless hiking, day trip, and driving excursions to keep you busy for weeks. Some of our favorites are Tunnel Beach to the South and Moeraki Boulders to the North (more on Moeraki later). A bit further North – but worth the drive – are the Elephant Rocks and Oamaru, home of the famed Oamaru whitestone quarries. If you have more than a few days, Dunedin makes a great home base for explorations of the South Island’s Southern half of the West Coast. And don’t forget to stop by St. Clair beach and the waterfront if you like to surf or just sip a flat white overlooking the ocean.

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Things to do in Dunedin

When we lived in Dunedin the first time, we were broke graduate students working part-time jobs while studying at Otago. Michelle worked a few hours at the Otago Daily Times, not far from the railway station, and Ben worked odd jobs with a local social service agency. We didn’t have a lot of cash for eating out, so we found some great local dives like Poppa’s Pizza that didn’t cost a lot but tasted great. Poppa’s opened at 74 Albany Street in 1975, and we’ve probably enjoyed at least 74 pizzas there over the years. The interior features University of Otago orientation posters from the last four decades, and the large front windows open up to face the university library.

Two young sisters pose on a pizza restaurant table bench at Poppa's Pizza, across Albany street from Dunedin, New Zealand's University of Otago.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A mother and her two young daughters sit at a restaurant table under a pizza menu at Poppa's Pizza, across Albany street from Dunedin, New Zealand's University of Otago.

A young girl holds a chilled glass of apple juice at at Poppa's Pizza, across Albany street from Dunedin, New Zealand's University of Otago.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. Two young sisters play in front of an old brick wall at Poppa's Pizza, across Albany street from Dunedin, New Zealand's University of Otago.

Things to do in Dunedin: Study at the University of Otago

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. Two young sisters stand in front of a large sign at the University of Otago's Art Building at 95 Albany Street, Dunedin, New Zealand. The campus sign lists the location of various academic departments, including Humanities, Classics, English and Linguistics, History and Art History, Languages and Cultures, Politics, Theology and Religion, and the Burns Lecture Theatre.

The first time we lived in Dunedin, Ben taught classes through the Department of Languages and Cultures. Between study, teaching, and coming back four years later for a Ph.D. program, we’ve spent hundreds of hours on campus, researching at the library, and walking from the library to the Burns Building and all the other lecture halls spread out around campus. We left New Zealand the second time when Michelle was just a few months pregnant with Nyah and haven’t been back since. Having the girls here with us to walk around campus and visit our old haunts feels surreal, something we never would have imagined when we first landed in Dunedin nearly 20 years ago without any connections, friends, or even a place to stay.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. Two young sisters pose in front of a three-story wall of Oamaru white stone affixed to Dunedin, New Zealand's University of Otago library.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. Two sisters sit in front of a computer monitor inside the three-story atrium of the University of Otago's library in Dunedin, New Zealand.

The library sits on the edge of campus, its towering white stone facade only partially blocking the sun from the upper floors and the four-story atrium inside. Curved metal staircases and bright red furniture give the interior spaces a contemporary look. We wandered around the library, up and down the stairs, trying to keep the girls from running and disturbing the small groups of students still trying to study during the summer, despite the temptations of sunshine and gorgeous weather at St. Clair beach. We did our part, too; Nyah worked on her third-grade writing project at the benches overlooking the atrium where we once spent countless hours poring over thick volumes and dense chapters in sociology, political science, and international law.

Looking across the atrium and open third floor of the University of Otago's library in Dunedin, New Zealand. Study rooms look over the library collection and study spaces.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A curved staircase descends from the upper floor to the third floor of the University of Otago's library in Dunedin, New Zealand.

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Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A curved staircase descends from the upper floor to the second floor of the University of Otago's library in Dunedin, New Zealand.

A young girl descends a curved staircase from the second floor to the ground floor of the University of Otago's library in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. Two young girls sit on contemporary, modern furniture on the ground floor of the University of Otago's library in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A young girl sits reading her homework at a study bench at Dunedin, New Zealand's University of Otago library.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A large public art mural overlooks the Leith at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. Oamaru white stone and black stone make up some of the earliest architecture on campus at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Gargoyles and other sculpted stone figures perch atop the classical structure. — Some of the University of Otago’s oldest buildings, near the Clocktower

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. Two young girls walk silhouetted through a large stone archway at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. A flag commemorating the university's 150th anniversary hangs against lush green trees as the girls walk through the covered archway.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. Two young girls stand among the administration buildings at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. A flag commemorating the university's 150th anniversary hangs against lush green trees as the girls stand under a covered archway.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A young girl stands in front of a 2019 college orientation poster at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The vibrant pink and purple poster highlights the university's clocktower building and orientation '19 events. — The students keep getting younger and younger each year!

Things to do in Dunedin: Visit Friends in New Zealand

The second time we lived in Dunedin, Michelle took an Arabic course taught by our friend Suad. She and her husband, Mahmud, moved to New Zealand from Iraq, where Mahmud taught veterinary sciences at the University of Baghdad before they and their two sons left the Middle East and settled in New Zealand. While we lived in Dunedin, we frequently visited Suad and Mahmud at their home in the hills overlooking the city for tea and conversation about their lives and their sons and their family still in Iraq.

An elderly Iraqi woman hugs a young girl while her sister picks apples from the tree behind them.

An elderly Iraqi couple stand in their Dunedin, New Zealand garden.

A young girl eats sweet treats with two elderly friends from Iraq.

We’ve kept in contact over the years, periodically exchanging emails and photos of the girls. We came back for a visit, this time with two little blondies in tow. The girls picked apples in the garden and enjoyed Suad’s delicious chocolate cake before running around outside once the sugar kicked in. When they moved to Dunedin, Mahmud took up painting. He generously offered both of the girls one of his paintings of native New Zealand birds. The girls sat down in the sunny covered patio and did their best to copy the paintings, leaving Mahmud with their own abstract/impressionist versions of his colorful work.

A young girl gives a colorful penned drawing to her elderly friend from Iraq at his home in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city is visible from the covered patio.

The Dunedin Railway Station: A Local Art Gallery, Café, and More

The Dunedin Railway Station dates to 1903, when construction began on the Flemish Renaissance-style building with black basalt and white Oamaru stone on the exterior and pink granite on the interior. The Otago Art Society and the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame share the second-floor exhibit space, where local and regional artists sell prints and paintings. The station is still used today, but most of the traffic is from tourism and not passengers riding trains. Come on Saturday to the railway’s Northern Carpark for the Otago Farmer’s Market, where we once tasted the best dahl makhani we’ve ever had.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A wide angle view of Dunedin's railway station, the most photographed building in New Zealand. Oamaru white stone and black stone make up the materials of the classical architecture, and manicured gardens sit in the foreground.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A close up view of one of the towers at Dunedin's railway station, the most photographed building in New Zealand. Oamaru white stone and black stone make up the materials of the classical architecture, and manicured gardens sit in the foreground. Large stone lions and other carved sculptures sit atop the tower.

As much as the girls loved browsing the local artists’ work, they preferred running around the grassy area out front, in and around the carefully manicured, low-lying hedges. The station hasn’t changed much at all, but the well-tended gardens are much improved. If you visit the station, check out the old locomotive exhibit and walk up and over the rail lines on the pedestrian bridge for a view of the back of the station and South Dunedin. Just a short walk up Stuart Street, you can see the Otago Daily Times building on your way to George Street and the Octagon. First Church, a massive Scottish Presbyterian church with towering spires overlooking the harbor, sits just about a block away to the West.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A close-up view of Dunedin's railway station, the most photographed building in New Zealand. Oamaru white stone and black stone make up the materials of the classical architecture, and manicured gardens sit in the foreground. A father and his two young daughters pose in front of a manicured hedge.

Things to do in Dunedin: The Otago Rescue Helicopter Trust

Our friends Rose and Alastair invited us over to their house in North Dunedin to catch up and reconnect. The last time we were here, Thomas was the only kid; now we have 5 between us. Nyah and Renn bounced on their trampoline, happy to be out of the car after our drive South from Christchurch.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A black regional rescue helicopter sits inside the hangar at Milton, Otago's Regional Helicopter Rescue Trust.

We piled back in the cars to drive further South to Milton, where Alastair works at the Otago Rescue Helicopter Trust, designing schematics and instrumentation for state-of-the-art helicopters that provide emergency rescue services throughout the South Island. The girls got to sit in the pilots’ seats, and we saw all stages of re-building helicopters, from frame to running miles of cables, to the finishing touches on the trust’s sophisticated machinery.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A young girl sits in the cockpit of an Otago regional rescue helicopter in Milton, New Zealand.

The hangars open up to the vast, flat farmland that lies beyond Milton. The relatively calm air and wind currents here make it a great place for a base of operations, and the view is stunning. The main highway that connects Dunedin and Milton is fastest, but the winding, forested country road that climbs up and over the coastal range from Milton to the Kaikorai Valley Road is much more picturesque.

A view of the underside of a helicopter tail. A red regional rescue helicopter sits inside the hangar at Milton, Otago's Regional Helicopter Rescue Trust.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A young family smiles while standing in front of a small helicopter inside the hangar at Milton, Otago's Regional Helicopter Rescue Trust.

Three young friends hold hands and smile outside of the Milton, Otago Regional Helicopter Rescue Trust.

Things to do in Dunedin: St. Clair, New Zealand – Surf, Soak, Eat, & Drink

We left Milton for St. Clair beach, our final stop before heading out in the morning to the Moeraki Boulders and the drive back to Queenstown. The photos below show just how much some things have changed since we first started coming here nearly 20 years ago; what used to be a complete set of pilings from an old pier has now mostly fallen into the Pacific, only a few dogged survivors holding their own against the pounding surf.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A young girl walks on the white sand beach at St. Clair, New Zealand. The jagged, protruding posts of a former pier jut out of the waves.

The waterfront shops and restaurants are largely the same; new residential condos and other expensive properties have been built up overlooking the ocean, but there’s still wide open public access at the hot pools and beach. Surfers crowd the shallow waves, and you can rent equipment a few steps away from the beach.

Things to do in Dunedin, New Zealand. A surfer paddles out to small waves at St. Clair, New Zealand.

We came to St. Clair beach on one of our very first days in New Zealand in 2003. Now, watching the girls run and play on the beach where we used to walk and run ourselves makes it feel like we never left.