Located on New Zealand’s South Island, Dunedin is one of the nation’s four main centres of commerce and culture. The city’s Scottish Heritage can be found in the gaellic translation of its name, with Dunedin translating roughly to Edinburgh – the Scottish capital. Māori settlements were established in 1250 CE, while the arrival of Europeans in the 19th century resulted in fierce trade wars between indigenous sealers and foreign whalers. To learn more about the history of Dunedin, visit the city’s Otago Museum in the city centre. Dunedin’s architecture boasts Scottish romanticism, while the Asian diaspora that arrived during the 1852 Gold Rush still influences much of the city’s food culture. Today, the city boasts a thriving tech industry while remaining one of New Zealand’s thriving music scenes.
Leave Dunedin’s Octagonal Centre to find luscious hinterland, the Silverpeaks Mountain Range and coastal villages suited to kitesurfing and watersports or search out New Zealand’s otherworldly aesthetics at the Dunedin Volcano, located on the Otago Peninsula. Here, you’ll be able to see rare penguin species and the world’s first Albatross breeding colony. The region’s cool climate makes Dunedin suitable for hiking with the Flagstaff Track, Signal Hill and Mount Cargill providing picturesque trails. Elsewhere on St Clair beach, Sandfly Bay and Hoopers Inlet, there’s always a chance of spotting the Southern Lights, otherwise known as the (Aurora Australis).