Driving Princes Street in Dunedin from The Octagon | Otago | New Zealand | 4K

Categories: Otago Region

Tags: driving, dunedin, new zealand, octagon, otago, princes street

Added: 2 years ago

Driving Princes Street in Dunedin from The Octagon, in the Otago region on the East Coast of New Zealand's South Island.

Scottish Presbyterians established the port city of Dunedin in 1848. As a result, the city's name means Edinburgh in old Gaelic. The city is also New Zealand's oldest and is considered New Zealand's architectural heritage capital. The foundations of this architectural heritage were built in the gold rush era in the 1860s. Today the city's abundance of old Victorian and Edwardian architecture is unmatched anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere. As a result, Dunedin's historic homes and other buildings are something to be seen. These include Olveston, Lanarchs Castle, and the Dunedin Railway Station, to name a small few.

Dunedin sits around the Otago Harbour, which indents the Otago Peninsula, attracting a large wildlife population just a 15-20 minute drive from the central city. Nature and wildlife tour companies run daily excursions to view fur seals, endangered yellow-eyed penguins, cormorants, and albatross. Nowhere else does the largest of the world's sea birds live within such easy human access.

When Dunedin was founded in 1848 by a surveyor named Charles Kettle, he placed an Octagon at the centre, with Moray Place forming an outer octagon. George and Princes streets are the main streets heading North and South. These two names were the names of Edinburgh in Scotland's main streets.

Today the Octagon, with its many bars and cafes, provides a popular meeting place in the central city. Dunedin is also well known for its artistic feel. It is an excellent area to check out the local art and fashion scene.