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Things to do in Dunedin, Napier & Picton


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Will be coming to New Zealand on Ovation of the Seas first week in January. Has anyone recommendations on what to do in these towns. ????? - Names of private companies to do tours?????? Look forward to any suggestions. Thanks Judy.

 

Hi, Judy!! So many great options to consider for in and around Dunedin and Napier that we did in early 2014. Have not been to Picton. If you look on the last page of my live/blog, you will see a complete index and a listing of ways to hook up with folks we used from our "adventure.

 

I do not know what you ship offers, but you might check in connection with doing a two-day, overnight stay in Queenstown. That "Crazy Capital of the World" is a very unique and special setting with its dramatic sights and options. Have you considered Queenstown?

 

See a few visual samples for what we did nearby to Napier for Cape Kidnappers, etc. Many, many more on the full live/blog.

 

Added questions and info needs?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 149,453 views for this posting.

 

 

Here is a view of the main street in Arrowtown (near Queenstown) with lots of character and charm. Plus, many shops! High-quality ones!! Just the kind that my wife and others love. There were historic places for beers, cheese, etc., too! Not just clothing and jade/jewelry.:

 

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Here is one of my visuals in connection with this steamship sailing leading to the dinner at the sheep station at the other end of this scenic lake near Queenstown during the two-day Solstice excursion. You will see lots of scenic mountains and areas during this sailing that is a key part of this evening fun. And, there was food!!:

 

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There are the famed gannets near this Napier location. Since we were so close, we could BOTH see . . . and SMELL them very vividly!! At twelve miles SE of Napier, this area hosts a protected breeding site for over 6,500 pairs of Australasian gannets. These birds (takapu) are one of three species of gannet belonging to the booby family. They have been nesting at Cape Kidnappers since the 1870's. This location is the largest and most accessible mainland colony in the world. This headland was named after an attempt by local Māori to abduct the servant of a member of Captain Cook's crew aboard HMS Endeavour, during a landfall there in October 1769. Here is our expert guide/driver, Jo, traveling along the ridge near the water (on the Pacific Ocean) as we go to see more of the nesting areas along this super scenic coast.:

 

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While at Cape Kidnappers near Napier, NZ, we arranged a private, three-course, gourmet lunch at the exclusive resort here that overlooked both the Pacific Ocean and the famed golf course ranked as the 22nd best in the world. Here are members of our 14-person, Central Ohio group enjoying this scenic and dramatic setting and the beautiful weather this day. I used my 10-20mm wide-angle lens to capture this shot.:

 

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Here are some visuals for what we saw in a limited time in Napier. Art Deco is the key phrase/description. The first picture is of the main newspaper building that is considered a "classic" for such design. The second visual is of the dome tower atop a key downtown building on a pedestrian-only shopping street.:

 

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Will be coming to New Zealand on Ovation of the Seas first week in January. Has anyone recommendations on what to do in these towns. ????? - Names of private companies to do tours?????? Look forward to any suggestions. Thanks Judy.

 

Napier-wines and more wines. whites are ok not reds.. walk the art deco area also.

 

 

 

 

Dunniden- the train ride thru the ship.. if into cadberry candy the factory is there. i never went but many did. several churches in town to look at and the inside of the train station.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Will be coming to New Zealand on Ovation of the Seas first week in January. Has anyone recommendations on what to do in these towns. ????? - Names of private companies to do tours?????? Look forward to any suggestions. Thanks Judy.

 

Napier.. Wine country..not as good as AU but fun day. Art deco area too.nice places for lunch

 

Picton..forgot

Dunedin ..train then three churches in town

Cadbury there too

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Queensland Girl

 

We went on a cruise to New Zealand in February and in Dunedin we did:

 

Awesome Tours http://awesometours.co.nz/

 

Shore Excursion~Natures Wonders & Larnach Castle 6HOURS

A 6 hour return trip travelling the low road to Taiaroa Head, stopping for a look at Otakou Marae on the way, while at Natures Wonders you take a 1 hour guided tour experiencing an exhilarating ride in an 8-wheel drive, all terrain Argo vehicle. Here, amidst truly spectacular scenery, are the worlds rarest penguins, Hoiho the ‘Yellow-Eyed’, the little Blue Penguins, the NZ Fur Seals and Cormorants (Shags) all living in their natural environment. After your argo & wild life tour you can sit back and take in the view while enjoying a bit of lunch (own expense).

After lunch you have the unique opportunity to discover Larnach Castle. Spectacular tower views and beautiful gardens complete this enjoyable award winning experience. We return to the city via the high road for the most picturesque scenery towards the Pacific Ocean on one side, the Otago harbour on the other and Dunedin City straight ahead.

In addition to your wildlife tour we take a look at Baldwin St (steepest street in the world), Otago University, and Dunedin Railway Station before returning you to your cruise ship.

 

 

The price was $185.00 NZ per person and included the entry price into Larnach Castle and Natures Wonders. Every time I emailed Awesome Tours they were very quick in getting back to me. It was a pleasure to work with Awesome Tours. Mark Dixon from Awesome Tours was our guide and he was wonderful. The whole experience with this company was awesome. Instead of a large coach of 40 people (like we would have had if we had booked through Princess), there was just James, me and Mark. There would have been 8 others but since Princess had changed the day we arrived in port we were on our own with Mark. Awesome Tours were happy to accommodate the change of dates. Thankyou Mark. So for our day in port we had our own private guide and vehicle.

 

I did a review about our great day with Mark. it is on page 6 of my cruise review

 

Golden Princess New Zealand 11th to 24th February 2016 - Complete Picture Review!

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Here are some of the things we was while on your tour of Dunedin

 

Larnach Castle and the Otago Peninsula

 

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Natures Wonders, a large sheep farm that covers most of the Otago Peninsula’s tip. The scenery was wild, rugged and beautiful. We were here to visit a private little beach where we were hoping to see the world’s rarest penguins – the yellow – eyed Hoiho penguins. We would also meet some NZ Fur Seals and Shags.

 

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Dunedin is a lovely town - if you have time, highly recommend the Otago Peninsula - took tour, did a walk through a penguin habitat (but in a way so they were NOT disturbed!) and were taken by a smaller boat out to see an albatross and sea lion habitats....just amazing plus a great look at NZ natural beauty.

 

All this in addition to Dunedin being a charming place with history. Just wonderful :)

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Dunedin is a lovely town All this in addition to Dunedin being a charming place with history. Just wonderful

 

YES, lots of good and interesting history in and around Dunedin. People forget how rich and powerful as Dunedin at one time. Below are some of my visuals as "eye-candy" and to prove its worth for visiting. More on the full live/blog connected below.

 

From our time in Scottish-styled Dunedin, we got a good sample of its best highlights, including its rail station. This eclectic, Flemish Renaissance-Revival building has dark basalt and lighter Oamaru stone facings, giving it a distinctive pattern seen in many of the more grand buildings of Dunedin and Christchurch. Pink granite was used for supporting pillars which line a colonnade at the front. The roof has terracotta shingles with copper-domed cupolas. The southern end is dominated by the 121-feet clock tower. The booking hall features a mosaic floor of almost 750,000 Minton tiles. Royal Doulton porcelain runs around the balcony. The floor's design features a locomotive and other related symbols. This station is a real "dessert" for the eyes. I took a nice video here of a train departing for sharing with our grandson in Virginia. This station was opened in 1906.

 

Here are some of my other notes and info on Dunedin and its nearby options. You dock at Port Chalmers, a suburb and the main port for the city of Dunedin and this scenic region. This port town has a population of 3,000. Port Chalmers is six miles inside Otago Harbor and nine miles northeast from Dunedin's city center.

 

Dunedin is the second-largest city of NZ's South Island. It is still considered to be one of the four main cities of the country for historic, cultural and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city in New Zealand by population until about 1900. The 2013 city population is a little over 120,000. The harbor and hills around Dunedin are the remnants of an extinct volcano. Very nice, chiming and scenic for your sail-in and sail-out. Nearby is the Otago Peninsula, rated by TripAdvisor as one of the area's best activity points with its wildlife, sights and nature options. Another top-rated option is its Taieri Gorge Railway.

 

The city's largest industry is higher education, being home to the University of Otago, New Zealand's first university, started in 1869. Next to our ship's docking point were a huge loading area full of logs ready to be shipped out. Busy port!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 152,898 views for this posting.

 

 

Here are some of the highlights in Dunedin with their rail station and its many special design touches. As our guide, John, explained, Dunedin was very rich at the time from its gold and other resources. Why did they make it so fancy? Because they could!! You can see some of the fancy tile work, a stained-glass window, etc., in these pictures. They do not build things like this these days. In the final picture, you can see John with some of the folks from our Central Ohio travel group in front of this landmark building. :

 

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Here is one of the distinctive, historic building in Dunedin. It is the First Church. Located in the heart of the city just south of the city center, it is the city's main Presbyterian church. Regarded as one of the most impressive of New Zealand's nineteenth-century churches, its multi-pinnacled tower/spire rises to 185 feet tall. It was completed in 1873.:

 

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In Napier I recommend hiring an antique car through the Art Deco Trust. It is a a great way to see the historic town with a private guide for a very reasonable fee and it supports the Trust. Be sure to stop in a the Trust and watch the film about the earthquake that precipitated the Art Deco town.

 

Good tours with good prices are available from the tourist offices at the pier or in town for Dunedin. The tourist effort is just about the best run operation I have seen like it. Going out of the harbor you will pass right by a wonderful wildlife sanctuary and can get some great bird and animal shots with a long lens. The highlight are the Albatross.

Edited by jmps
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Hi Judy, we are in the midst of planning some tours. I have googled online for the places we are going to. Check out this website http://www.shoretripsandtours.com It would probably be cheaper to go in a group. We did that on our last trip to Fiji. A group of us from meet & mingle organised a couple and we had a fantastic time. Maree

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

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In Dunedin we did the Hop On Hop off bus and it allowed us to jump on and off as we wanted. I can highly recommend the Discovery World Tropical Forest @ Otago Museum. It is a butterfly house and well worth the 45mins or so we spent there (and its cheap - $10NZ from memory).

 

Picton is great if you like wine. We organised a private tour through Bubbly Grape Wine Tours. They were amazing and catered the day to suit us. They have a website and I put a review on Trip Advisor. If you like good food and Beer then I can also highly recommend Dodson Street Beer Garden. It has fantastic pizzas and German food and a large selection of Beers and Ciders on Tap (check out my review on Trip Advisor as well).

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There isn't much in Picton. It is a beautiful small town that you need to catch a bus to from the ship (about 10mins). We were travelling in a group and half of us wanted to visit the Marlborough wineries and half opted to explore the town of Picton and the Marlborough sounds, so you have 2 options in the area.

 

My wife and I chose to visit the wineries (as per my post above). The wineries are mainly around Blenheim and it is about half hour from Picton. The area is famous for its Sauvignon Blanc but there is a lot more to do in Blenheim than wines. There is a nice handmade chocolate factory (the macadamia brittle is yummy), a couple of craft breweries and some nice restaurants as well.

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Hi Judy

 

Looks like we have some things in common. I am also on this cruise and currently looking a shore tours privately, as the ones of the ship seem to be quite expensive.

 

I am also from Brissie,

 

Might see you around the ship!

 

Stacey

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We were in Picton on the Diamond Princess in February. We hired a car that we picked up directly opposite the information site, which is where the shuttle from the ship drops you. All the main car hire companies operate from the same site. (This needs to be booked in advance).

 

We drove up the road by Queen Charlotte Sounds. My DH is kiwi and used to the roads which are very steep with sharp bends. We took two American friends with us and it became one of the the highlights of their cruise. The scenery is just amazing and there are many places to stop along the road to get pictures or lunch. You can even stop at one of the bays and have a swim or paddle in the water.

 

This route is not for anyone who is not used to driving on the left and can't handle the corners and hills.

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  • 11 months later...

Has anyone done the Dunedin - Taieri Gorge trip on their own?

Were you able to get the train in Pt Chalmers?

HAL's tour leaves from the wharf and costs $279.95 (w/box lunch)

The railway quoted $99.00 + 29.00 for transport from the ship. (no lunch)

It is my understanding there are places to get lunch along the way.

 

Advice appreciated.

Thanks.

Paula

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I've done the Taieri Gorge train but on a land trip not a cruise.

 

You should be able to buy lunch on the train, there was a food counter selling basic stuff in one of the carriages. The train doesn't stop along the way, just at the turnaround point, Pukerangi and, from memory, there wasn't much there when we went but that was ten years ago.

 

I don't know whether you would be able to join the train in Port Chalmers. That may be reserved for those people booking through the cruise line.

 

Sometimes it isn't possible to book privately when a cruise ship is in port, as the ship reserves all available space.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We have booked Taieri gorge train ride and city tour combo through Good Company website for our day in Dunedin next March. They pick you up at the port in a bus and take you go the main railway station in Dunedin. Cost for the day was Nz$140.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We will be in Dunedin on the Sun Princess on April 3, 2018. Unfortunately, there are 2 ships in port that day (ours & a HAL ship). Because of this, the ONLY way to book the Taieri Gorge trip for that date is through the ship at over 3 times what the cost would be if we could purchase directly. The ship's excursion did include a lunch & the ability to board at Port Chalmers but certainly not worth 3 times the cost of booking direct.

 

I had found a tour through Viator that offered the same trip for a reasonable price and booked it, only to be notified later that the tour wasn't available.

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We have also done the Train trip in Dunedin using Good Company tours and they are wonderful .We have used them 3 times before to do tours and they are very reliable.

 

We have done the train trip through the ship (Princess in 2013) and it was a great tour. The lunch and wine provided by our carriage attendant was very nice, and the scenery was so pretty. If you can, go out onto the platform outside your carriage to take photos during the ride. I had a great time!

 

Since we've done that already I will be checking out Good Company tours to perhaps go somewhere else that day, such as Larnach castle. Thanks for the idea!

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We have done the train trip through the ship (Princess in 2013) and it was a great tour. The lunch and wine provided by our carriage attendant was very nice, and the scenery was so pretty. If you can, go out onto the platform outside your carriage to take photos during the ride. I had a great time!

 

Since we've done that already I will be checking out Good Company tours to perhaps go somewhere else that day, such as Larnach castle. Thanks for the idea!

Yes the train trips great. Good Company tours offer a few tours that include Larnach Castle. We have always found Richard and Adele to be extremely helpful and reliable. https://www.goodcompanytours.co.nz/larnach-castle-tours

Enjoy your cruise

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Yes the train trips great. Good Company tours offer a few tours that include Larnach Castle. We have always found Richard and Adele to be extremely helpful and reliable. https://www.goodcompanytours.co.nz/larnach-castle-tours

Enjoy your cruise

 

 

Thank you! I've been checking them out today and saw a Larnach Castle tour that included a visit to the Speights Brewery. Since DH worked for a major St. Louis-based brewery for 29+ years (you might have heard of Anheuser-Busch which makes Budweiser beer), that would interest him. ;)

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