Otago Peninsula

The Dunedin Volcano is an extensively eroded multi-vent shield volcano that was active between 16 and 10 million years ago. It originally extended from the modern city of Dunedin, New Zealand to Aramoana about 25 km away. Extensive erosion has occurred over the last 10 million years and Otago Harbour now fills the oldest parts of the volcano. The remnants of the volcano form the hills around Otago Harbour (including Mount Cargill, Flagstaff, Saddle Hill, Signal Hill, and Otago Peninsula).

Portobello is a village beside the Otago Harbour halfway along the Otago Peninsula in Dunedin City, New Zealand. It lies at the foot of a small peninsula (Portobello Peninsula) between Portobello Bay and Latham Bay. Like scores of Dunedin features, Portobello was named after a locality in Edinburgh, Scotland, also called Portobello. At the end of Portobello Peninsula sits a marine research station, the Portobello Marine Laboratory, which is part of the University of Otago. Close to the end of this peninsula lies Quarantine Island / Kamau Taurua. Portobello features a Historical Society Museum, the 1908 Restaurant, a local primary school (Portobello School, Years 1-8), the old Portobello Hotel (a pub), a cafe and several accommodation providers, including a camping ground, bed and breakfasts and motels. A local dairy acts as the community's grocers, though most of the village's retail needs are served by Dunedin, which is easily accessed via the winding but well-surfaced Portobello Road which runs along the edge of the harbour. A multi-year project to raise and widen this road and add a 19km shared-use pathway is nearing completion, safely connecting Portobello to Dunedin for cyclists and walkers. This pathway is part of the larger Otago Harbour Cycleway. A more convoluted but scenic route, Highcliff Road, connects Portobello with Dunedin city centre via the ridge of the peninsula. Boating is an historical focus for Portobello. In the past, Portobello residents caught the ferry to the city, before the Portobello Road along the foreshore was constructed. Today, scheduled ferry service to Kamau Taurua and Port Chalmers departs from the recently renovated ferry jetty, a short distance from the centre of the village. A boating club maintains a slipway and boat shed near the jetty. Portobello Community Inc. is the local community group, which works to improve Portobello for its community.

Hoopers Inlet is one of two large inlets in the Pacific coast of Otago Peninsula, in the South Island of New Zealand. The origin of the name is a little confused; there was an early settler family called Hooper who lived nearby, but the name appears on charts made prior to their arrival in the area. A. W. Reed has suggested that the name is a corruption of "Cooper's Inlet", named for Daniel Cooper, the ship's captain of the Unity, which operated in the area during the Peninsula's years as a base for sealers. The inlet was on a traditional Māori route for collecting shellfish, which ran from Otakou to what is now St. Clair. The Māori name for the inlet was Puke-tu-roto, meaning either "hills standing around a lake" or "hills standing inland".Like its near neighbour, Papanui Inlet, Hoopers Inlet is known for its diverse bird life. The inlet lies 2 km to the south of Portobello and can be reached by road from both there and the city of Dunedin (of which it is administratively a part), the centre of which lies 15 kilometres to the west. Both inlets are shallow, becoming predominantly sand and mud flats at low tide. The mouth of Hoopers Inlet is narrowed by a large spit, the seaward coast of which forms Allans Beach. Behind this beach is a significant area of wetland and swamp, which is home to many species of flora and birds.Hoopers Inlet is separated from Papanui Inlet by a strip of land which is the isthmus to a hilly peninsula containing Cape Saunders and the peninsula's highest point, the 408-metre Mount Charles.

Portobello School is a New Zealand primary school located on Harington Point Road, Portobello, on the Otago Peninsula. The school has from year 1 to year 8. The school has 88 students, 4 classrooms, a library, 2 playgrounds (junior and senior) with a new senior playground opened at the 150th reunion on Labour weekend 2007, swimming pool, large grounds and a native tree reserve. The school covers the area from Portobello to Otakou. After students have reached year 8, they must travel to a high school in Dunedin City, approximately 21 km away.

Larnach Castle (also referred to as "Larnach's Castle") is a mock castle on the ridge of the Otago Peninsula within the limits of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, close to the small settlement of Pukehiki. It is one of a few houses of this scale in New Zealand. The house was built by the prominent entrepreneur and politician, William Larnach. Since 1967, the castle has been privately owned by the Barker family, and opened as a tourist attraction, as "New Zealand's only castle".The castle and grounds are open daily to members of the public. The Larnach Castle gardens are one of only five gardens nationwide to have been given the rating of "Garden of International Significance" by the New Zealand Gardens Trust. These were the first gardens in the South Island to receive the title. In 2018, Larnach Castle was designated a New Zealand Landmark by Heritage New Zealand.

Fletcher House is a historic house at Broad Bay on Otago Peninsula, part of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. The house was one of the first to be built by Sir James Fletcher, the founder of one of New Zealand's biggest companies, Fletcher Construction. The house is located at 727 Portobello Road, Broad Bay, on a promontory overlooking nearby Turnbulls Bay. The property is managed by the Otago Peninsula Trust, with the help of financial support from the Fletcher Trust. It is the only fully restored and furnished Edwardian house of its type in New Zealand.A typical Edwardian house, it was built in 1909 for local postmaster Hubert Green and his new wife Agnes. As Broad Bay was a popular holiday spot for wealthier Dunedinites, Fletcher's reputation quickly spread, and his company grew as a result.In December 1990 Fletcher Challenge bought and restored the villa to its former glory with help from Toitū Otago Settlers Museum. The house is now open to the public, and is listed as a Category II historic place by Heritage New Zealand. It is one of several historic homes open to the public in the vicinity, among them Larnach Castle and Glenfalloch.

The settlement of Broad Bay (Māori: Whaka Oho Rahi) is located on the Otago Harbour coast of Otago Peninsula, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is administered as part of the city of Dunedin, and is technically a suburb of that city, though its isolation and semi-rural nature make it appear as a settlement in its own right. Broad Bay is 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) to the east of the city centre, but due to the shape of the peninsula's coastline, the heart of the city cannot be seen from Broad Bay. A large bluff, Grassy Point, lies between Broad Bay and the harbourside settlements of Company Bay and Macandrew Bay to the west. The bluff is skirted by Portobello Road, the road which winds around the southeastern shore of the harbour between inner Dunedin and Portobello, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the northeast of Broad Bay, and by the Otago Harbour Cycleway, which runs alongside it. The Camp Road walking track connects Broad Bay with Larnach Castle, close to the ridge of the peninsula. Broad Bay is situated on the shore of an aptly named wide bay (Broad Bay) and a smaller bay to the north east (Turnbulls Bay); between these lie a short peninsula (on which is sited the settlement's small historic cemetery), which terminates in the steep, finger-like headland of Yellowhead. The distinctive peak of Harbour Cone forms a backdrop to the settlement as seen from the harbour. The settlement is home to the heritage-listed Fletcher House, constructed in 1909 and restored in 1992, the first house by Fletcher Construction founder Sir James Fletcher. Like several settlements on the peninsula - including Portobello and Macandrew Bay, which lies 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the southwest - Broad Bay is a commuter settlement and a haven for alternative lifestylers. These settlements have a strong arts community, with many of their residents connected in some way with the visual or performing arts.

The Portobello Marine Laboratory is located on the end of a short peninsula close to the township of Portobello, within the limits of the city of Dunedin in New Zealand's South Island. It is run as part of the University of Otago, the main campus of which is 23 kilometres to the southwest in Dunedin's main urban area.

Pukehiki is a small locality on the Otago Peninsula, within the city of Dunedin on the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on the ridge which runs along the centre of the peninsula, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from Dunedin city centre, at a junction between Highcliff Road, which runs along the peninsula's ridge, and Castlewood Road, which descends to Company Bay on the shore of the Otago Harbour. Pukehiki has one notable structure, its local church. But it is far more well known for the nearby Larnach Castle, which lies 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) to the north on Camp Road, a small road that leads off of Castlewood Road. From Pukehiki, Highcliff Road continues heading east, eventually reaching the coast at Portobello, New Zealand.

Otago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, 21 km (13 mi) from the harbour mouth. It is home to Dunedin's two port facilities, Port Chalmers (half way along the harbour) and at Dunedin's wharf (at the harbour's end). The harbour has been of significant economic importance for approximately 700 years, as a sheltered harbour and fishery, then deep water port.

Quarantine Island (also known as Kamau Taurua and officially gazetted as Quarantine Island / Kamau Taurua), is the largest island in Otago Harbour, close to the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. The island covers an area of 15 hectares (37 acres), and is a publicly accessible recreation reserve. The buildings on the island are owned by Quarantine Island / Kamau Taurua Community Incorporated (QIKTC). Its management is shared between QIKTC and the Department of Conservation. A smaller island, Rakiriri, lies close to Quarantine Island. Both islands lie across the harbour between the town of Port Chalmers and the marine laboratory on Portobello Peninsula, part of the Otago Peninsula.

Sandfly Bay is a sandy bay with large dunes 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) east of central Dunedin, New Zealand. Located on the southern side of Otago Peninsula, between Seal Point and the Gull Rocks on the western side of Sandymount, Sandfly Bay is a Department of Conservation wildlife reserve frequented by trampers.