Planning a trip to Dunedin

Fast Facts

Area Code The telephone area code (STD) for Dunedin is 03.

Automobile Association The AA is at 450 Moray Place (tel. 03/477-5945, or 025/386-122 after hours; fax 03/477-9760), and is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5pm. For breakdowns, phone tel. 0800/500-222.

Dentists Raymond J. George, Level 7, at The Octagon and George Street (tel. 03/477-7993), provides 24-hour service.

Doctors Go to the Travellers Medical & Vaccination Centre, 169 Eglinton Rd., Mornington (tel. 03/453-6121).

Emergencies For police, fire, or ambulance service, dial tel. 111.

Internet Access A1 Internet Café, Level 1, 149 George St. (tel. 03/477-5832), is open from 10am until late. The visitor center also offers Internet service.

Post Office The Chief Post Office is at 343 Princes St. (tel. 03/477-3517); there's another at 233 Moray Place (tel. 03/474-0932).

Restrooms There are good public restrooms on Municipal Lane on the Upper Octagon, between the visitor center and the public library. Open Monday through Saturday from 8:30am to 8:30pm and Sunday from 9am to 5pm.

Getting Around

Orientation

All good cities have a heart, and Dunedin is no exception. Rather than a square, though, it has a tree-lined octagon, which acts as a central meeting place. This is where you'll find the visitor center, bus terminals, the main art gallery, and a host of cafes and bars. It boasts a statue of Scotland's beloved poet Robert Burns (whose nephew was Dunedin's first pastor), grassy areas under trees, and a giant chessboard. The Octagon divides the city's main street into George Street to the north and Princes Street to the south. A popular shopping area is to be found in the George Street section. The city center is at the head of Otago Harbour, and is encircled by a 200-hectare (500-acre) strip of land, the Green Belt.

Getting Around

By Bus -- The GoBus service is run by the Otago Regional Council (tel. 0800/474-082 in NZ, or 03/474-0287; www.orc.govt.nz). Most city buses leave from the vicinity of The Octagon. Your best bet is to get bus timetables from the visitor center on The Octagon or check www.orc.govt.nz. There is frequent service during the week, but it’s a little spotty on weekends. The fares are by zone and range from NZ$2 to NZ$6.50 per section, but you get 10% off every trip if you purchase a GoCard from the driver. These cost NZ$5 and require a minimum loading of NZ$10. They can be regularly topped up and can also be used on Queenstown’s Connectabus service.

By Taxi -- Taxi stands can be found at The Octagon, at all terminals, and near the Chief Post Office. Or call Dunedin Taxis (tel. 03/477-7777) or City Taxis (tel. 03/477-1771).

By Car -- Once you familiarize yourself with the one-way systems and the interrupted street pattern around The Octagon, Dunedin is easy to negotiate. Most central streets have metered parking, and there’s a municipal parking building near City Hall and a carpark in the Meridian Shopping Centre. If you’d like to drive yourself in style, contact Executive Car Rentals, 331A King Edward St. (tel. 0800/567-000 in NZ, or 03/455-9060; www.executivecar-rentals.co.nz), which specializes in European car rentals, from BMWs to Mercedes from NZ$125 to NZ$339 per day. GPS devices, children’s car seats, and snow chains are optional extras.

Getting There

By Plane

Air New Zealand (www.airnewzealand.co.nz) has flights between Dunedin and Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Air New Zealand, at the corner of The Octagon and Princes Street (tel. 0800/737-000 in NZ, or 03/479-6594; www.airnewzealand.co.nz), provides service between Dunedin and Auckland, Wellington, and Rotorua in the North Island, and Christchurch and Invercargill in the South Island. Pacific Blue (www.flypacificblue.com) flies between Dunedin and Christchurch daily. Stewart Island Flights (tel. 03/218-9129; www.stewartislandflights.com) has flights to and from Stewart Island on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

The Dunedin airport (www.dnairport.co.nz) is inconveniently placed 40 minutes out of the city, and taxis charge approximately NZ$60 for the trip into town. You?d be well advised to take one of the shuttles that run to the city at regular intervals. The Dunedin Taxis Airport Shuttle (tel. 0800/505-010 or 03/477-7777; www.dunedintaxis.co.nz) charges around NZ$25 to NZ$30 to most parts of Central City. City Taxis (tel. 0800/771771 in NZ, or 03/477-1771; www.citytaxis.co.nz) offers a fixed-fare service from the airport if you are staying at a city hotel; the rate is NZ$70, which covers one to four people in the taxi.

By Coach (Bus)

InterCity (tel. 09/623-1503) provides coach service between Dunedin and Christchurch, Invercargill, Picton, Queenstown, Te Anau, and Timaru. The bus terminal is at 205 St. Andrew St. (tel. 03/477-8860). Bottom Bus, The Octagon (tel. 0800/304-333 in NZ, or 03/477-9083; www.bottombux.co.nz), has a range of Southern tours including the 5-day In a Stew trip, which begins and ends anywhere you like in this region and costs NZ$625. It includes a Milford Sound cruise and travel to Stewart Island. It offers discounts to travelers with YHA, VIP, and BBH backpacker cards.

By Car

Dunedin can be reached via state highways 1 and 87. It is 366km (227 miles) and approximately a 5-hour drive south of Christchurch; 220km (136 miles) and approximately 3 to 4 hours northeast of Invercargill; and 4 hours from Queenstown, inland through Central Otago. The Southern Scenic Route from Invercargill is another possibility; this route passes through the forested coastal Catlins area and is well worth the slight diversion from State Highway 1.

When to Go

Climate

Dunedin has a moderate climate year-round, with a relatively low average annual rainfall, despite being often cloudy and a bit drizzly. Temperatures reach 20°C–25°C (68°F–77°F) in the summer months (Dec–Feb), peaking in February. Winter (June–Aug) brings some frost and very occasional snow, and the temperature drops to between 9°C–12°C (48°F–53°F), whilst autumn and spring temperatures hover around 55°F–63°F (12°C–17°C).

Special Events

Dunedin has an all-year program of festivals and events. To find out about them, check at the visitor center.

The Dunedin Summer Festival in February and March presents themed weekends, exhibitions, outdoor concerts, family activities, and sporting and cultural events. At the same time is the id Dunedin Fashion Show (www.id-dunedinfashion.com), where the city's many designers showcase their work on the Dunedin Railway Platform in front of international media. In May, the Regent Theatre 24-Hour Book Sale (tel. 03/477-6481) offers up over 300,000 volumes in the country's largest sale of secondhand books. It all started as a way to raise funds for the theater's restoration, and it's become a successful, established event filled with fun, live entertainment, and great bargains. In the third week of October, Dunedin Rhododendron Festival celebrates the exotic beauty of Dunedin's most famous flower. A happy combination of soil and climate makes the city one of the finest rhododendron-growing areas in the world. More information about Rhododendron Week and its private garden tours is available by calling tel. 03/474-3300 or visiting www.rhododunedin.co.nz.