Explore New Zealand’s East Coast: Dunedin & Oamaru 2-Day Itinerary Guide

❓How to choose❓
The drive between Oamaru and Dunedin is about 1 hour, and you can plan for 1-2 days. If time is limited, you can just visit Dunedin.

❓Difference in attractions❓
🌆Dunedin is a larger city where you can do a city walk, see animals, and the sea.
📍Steepest street, Baldwin Street: 10 minutes’ drive from the city center
📍Train station: Highly recommended! There is a garden outside, and the Victorian-style building of the station itself is very photogenic, with a very British platform.

📍Octagon, First Church: Both are close to the train station and can be reached on foot.
📍Royal Albatross: At the end of the peninsula, it’s best to book in advance on the official website. The ticket is around 260 RMB, there will be a guide, and if you’re lucky, you can see the albatross take off! You can also see little blue penguins at night, but tickets need to be booked separately.

📍Sandfly Bay: From above, you can see a beautiful coastline, and on the beach, you can see seals🦭, but the slope down is very steep, and climbing back up will be very tiring. If there are other arrangements to see seals in your itinerary, it’s not recommended to go down.
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🐧Oamaru is mainly for visiting little blue penguins and yellow-eyed penguins (Yellow eyed penguin colony, which depends on luck).

Seals🦭can be seen at both places; the city center is small, and the steampunk and Victorian-era buildings can be toured in half an hour.
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🌊The coastline between Dunedin and Oamaru has 🪨Moeraki Boulders, and some coastal points may have sea lions, you can visit one or two depending on the time.
📍Lady Thorn Dell Lookout
📍Flagstaff Lookout
📍Shag Point Lookout
📍Katiki Point Lighthouse
📍Kakanui Beach

👣【Two-day itinerary reference】
1️⃣Dunedin Otago Peninsula: Depart from Te Anau/Queenstown in the morning – arrive at the Royal Albatross Centre in the afternoon – Sandfly Bay – stay overnight in Oamaru
2️⃣Oamaru/Dunedin: Oamaru Steampunk – Moeraki Boulders – steepest street in Dunedin – train station – First Church – Octagon – 🐧After dinner, return to Oamaru to see the yellow-eyed penguins (2 hours before sunset) and the little blue penguins returning home (after sunset)

👣【One-day Dunedin itinerary reference】
Steepest street in Dunedin – train station – First Church – Octagon – Royal Albatross Centre (you can come back to see the little blue penguins at sunset) – Sandfly Bay

🚗Dunedin Otago Peninsula: Navigating to the Royal Albatross Centre will take you along the northern coastline to the far end of the peninsula; navigating to Sandfly Bay will show you the middle/southern scenery, with more mountain roads.

🍴Restaurant recommendations
🔸Dunedin: Chopstick101, a Taiwanese restaurant, the braised pork rice is excellent
🔸Oamaru: Star and Garter Restaurant, a brunch place in the city center, decent

@Life Potato