Orokonui Ecosanctuary

The Waitati River is a river in New Zealand, flowing into the Pacific Ocean at Blueskin Bay, north of Dunedin. The Dunedin Northern Motorway follows the valley of the Waitati between the Leith Saddle and Waitati. The river flows through the town of Waitati before discharging into the Orokonui Lagoon, an estuary of Blueskin Bay.

Long Beach, known in Māori as Wharauwerawera or Wharewerawera is a small coastal settlement in Otago, New Zealand comprising approximately 100 homes. Many of the sections were initially auctioned in October 1922 for a pound deposit. It is located within the city limits of Dunedin, and lies 15 kilometres northeast of the city centre, between Blueskin Bay and the mouth of the Otago Harbour. The small settlement of Pūrākaunui is located nearby. Long Beach township is near a sandy beach that stretches 2.4 kilometres between coastal rock formations. Wildlife in the beach and lagoon area includes blue penguins, seals, terns, pūkeko, herons, spoonbills, and ducks. Because the beach lies within a bay and is seldom affected by swells, it is a common swimming location. Rock-climbing cliffs and caves at the beach's western end also attract many visitors. The Mopanui Ecological Society, a Long Beach community group, has been extensively beautifying the area through mass planting of native flora in reserve areas. Some of the earliest traces of human settlement in the South Island are from nearby Kaikai Beach, just to the northwest of Long Beach. The 2006 movie Out of the Blue was primarily filmed at Long Beach.

Pūrākaunui (formerly spelt Purakanui) is a small settlement in Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located within the bounds of the city of Dunedin, in a rural coastal area some 25 km (16 mi) to the north of the city centre. Pūrākaunui lies close to the Pacific Coast to the east of Waitati and north of Port Chalmers, on a peninsula between Long Beach and the Pūrākaunui Inlet. On the opposite shore of the inlet is the community of Osborne. Both settlements lie close to the Orokonui Ecosanctuary and the historic pā site of Mapoutahi (Goat Island). Noted former residents of Pūrākaunui include poet David Howard. Pūrākaunui should not be confused with the locale with the same name in The Catlins, some 100 km further south, which is home to the Purakaunui Falls, in the Pūrākaunui Bay Scenic Reserve on the Pūrākaunui River.

Iona Church is an historic church in Port Chalmers, New Zealand. The church building is listed as a Category I Historic Place.

Sawyers Bay is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) to the southwest of Port Chalmers in a wide valley on the shore of Mussel Bay, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) to the northeast of Dunedin city centre. The suburb, on the western shore of Otago Harbour, lies between the two rocky headlands of Port Chalmers in the east and Roseneath in the west. The South Island Main Trunk rail line and State Highway 88 run along the shore of the bay. The name of the suburb is indicative of the occupation of many of its early settlers; the Sawyers Bay area provided much of the timber used in the early construction industry around both Dunedin and Port Chalmers area. Little remains of Sawyers Bay's early industries; it is now largely a residential suburb. Sawyers Bay's residential area is situated around one long street which runs inland from the bay itself. This street is called Station Road at its coastal end, and Hall Road further inland. At the coastal end, it connects with State Highway 88, the highway which runs along the west coast of Otago Harbour from Port Chalmers to Dunedin via Saint Leonards and Ravensbourne. Inland from here, roads branch off the main road – the most important of these is Stevenson Avenue, which connects with a back road to Port Chalmers (Borlases Road) in the east, and with Upper Junction Road in the west. Upper Junction Road, the winding old road to Port Chalmers from the Dunedin suburb of North East Valley, rises to join with the old Mount Cargill road, which was itself the former main road north out of Dunedin, linking the city's main urban area at Normanby with Waitati. Other notable features of Sawyers Bay include the Port Chalmers Golf Course, located in the north of Sawyers Bay. A bush walk, Grahams Bush, links the end of Hall Road with the Mount Cargill road. Sawyers Bay's most prolific family is the McLachlan clan, whose tenement dates back to pre-European settlement. Its current population base is now comprised by residents reliant on the marine environment and a large contingent of Firefighters

Te Mapoutahi or simply Mapoutahi is a peninsula on the coast of Otago, New Zealand, between the townships of Waitati and Pūrākaunui, within the limits of Dunedin City. It lies some 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Dunedin's city centre. Known also, confusingly, as "Goat Island", the peninsula's narrow isthmus and rugged coastline made it the perfect defensive location for a pā, a fortified settlement. The headland was, indeed, occupied by a Kāti Māmoe pā during the century before the arrival of Europeans in the early 1800s, and was the site of a major massacre in around 1750 when the warrior Taoka attacked the fortifications and killed those within. The peninsula is now a scenic and historic reserve and is the site of a popular walking track. The adjacent beach, Mapoutahi Cove, is used by naturists for nude walks and sunbathing. New Zealand has no official nude beaches, as public nudity is legal on any beach where it is "known to occur".

Port Chalmers is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre.

Holy Trinity Church is an Anglican church in Port Chalmers, New Zealand. The church building is constructed in volcanic stone and has some fine stained glass, and is listed as a Category I Historic Place. Together with St Barnabas Church, Warrington, Holy Trinity Church is part of the Port Chalmers-Warrington Parish of the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin, New Zealand.

The Port Chalmers time ball is a Victorian maritime Greenwich Mean Time signal located on Aurora Terrace on top of Observation Point in the port of Port Chalmers, New Zealand. It was established in 1867 by the Otago Provincial Council. The time ball fell precisely at 1 p.m. daily. Originally triggered by a grandfather clock, from 1882 onwards a telegraph signal from Wellington took over this function. It was removed in 1970, but a replacement was restored to service in 2020.

Observation Point, also known as Flagstaff Lookout or Flagstaff Hill, and formerly as Flagstaff Point is a large bluff in central Port Chalmers, in New Zealand's South Island. The point, as its name suggests, offers panoramic views covering the town, its deep-water port, and across the Otago Harbour. A road, Aurora Terrace, ascends to near the top of the point, allowing for easy public access. In 1860 the crew of HMS Acheron used Observation Point to make the first detailed cartographical study of Otago Harbour in 1860. A plaque to this effect stands near the flagstaff.In 1864 a flagstaff which had formerly been the mizzen mast on the condemned barque "Cincinnati" was installed on top of the point. The "Cincinnati" had once been owned by the notorious Bully Hayes. In June 1910 it was necessary to replace the original flagstaff (which had rotted) with a new “ironbark” flagstaff. In 1970 the flagstaff was restored and moved to a new location 50-100 yards (45.7 to 91.4 metres) closer to Port Chalmers, but still on Observation Point.In June 1867 the Otago Provincial Council installed a time ball on the flagstaff. The service initially operated at 1 pm on all days of the week except Sundays. The service was discontinued in October 1877, but following concerns raised by 11 shipmasters the service resumed in April 1882 as a weekly service. In 1910 the time keeping service was discontinued but the ball however continued to be used until 1931 as a warning device. It was removed in 1970 but a replacement was restored to service in 2020. When the port's facilities were expanded in 1993, the area contained the former studio of noted artist Ralph Hotere, was removed despite strenuous objection from many of the town's residents. Subsequently, an area accessed from Aurora Terrace close to the removed portion are converted in 2005 by the Hotere Foundation Trust with the assistance of the Otago Harbour Board into the Hotere Garden Oputae containing featuring works by both Hotere and by other noted New Zealand modern sculptors. The sculptures were previously displayed at Hotere's studio and include: Black Phoenix II by Ralph Hotere. It uses part of a fishing boat that burned in a yard in 1984. Brick Column by Russell Moses. It is made from a kiln once used by Coromandel potter Barry Brickell, while the iron bar is recycled from the port. They do cut down the poles that hold up the sky' by Shona Rapira Davies. Aramoana by Chris Booth. This was originally constructed in 1982 and decorated with more beach flotsam and jetsam. Aramoana, a beachside settlement south of Port Chalmers, was to be the site of an aluminum smelter – this piece was by way of a protest.In 2008 Design and Garden Landscapes Ltd won the Landscape Industries Association of NZ premier award for the best use of native plants, a gold award for landscape horticulture and a silver award for the landscape design for their work on the garden.In response to the demolition of Observation Point, Russell Moses in 1995 used the site clay to create large rosaries and paintings, as well as using woodchips from the wharf for bark paintings and sculptures.

Waitati, from the Māori Waitete, is a small seaside settlement in Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. It is located close to the tidal mudflats of Blueskin Bay, 19 kilometres north of the Dunedin city centre. The small Waitati River flows through the bay to the sea. The Dunedin–Waitati Highway section of State Highway 1, formerly and colloquially called Dunedin Northern Motorway, ends at Waitati; the highway continues north from here at a slightly lower grade of construction with more frequent intersections and accesses. Three km to the north, the highway ascends the notorious Kilmog hill. The Main South Line railway curves from east to north through Waitati. The old station yard remains as a train crossing loop and parts of the old station building are used by rail maintenance workers. Waitati is home to a branch of the Dunedin Public Libraries, Blueskin Nurseries, a local school, a cafe and general store, and several holiday homes.

Rakiriri, also known as Goat Island and officially Goat Island/Rakiriri is the second largest island in Otago Harbour, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located between Port Chalmers and Portobello, to the northeast of Dunedin's city centre.