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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]
Drives
Drives.
To any stranger who wishes to see Dunedin and the Harbour from a variety of points of view, the most varied and picturesque excursion that can be suggested follows the Town Belt, along the Queen's Drive. As the Belt runs along the edge of the hills just above the town, the Drive affords a splendid vantage ground from which practically every quarter of the city and its surroundings can be inspected in turn.
The Peninsula road is a favourite resort for travellers who wish to see the city and the harbour from another point of view. Driving along the Anderson's Bay road to Shiel Hill, the stranger finds a splendid panorama gradually unrolled before him. “Immediately beneath on the left, the placid waters of the harbour lie sleeping in drowsiness, sinuously wending their course along through and among sand banks and rocky isles, bluff headlands and receding bays, until, absorbed in the great Pacific, they cease to be recognised. Away to the right, the majestic ocean spreads its limitless bosom wide open to the gaze, so that far as the eye can reach, any object on its surface can be descried.” To the north, with a field glass, the seacoast can be traced as far as Oamaru; to the south, on a clear day, the eye follows the sea shore as far as the Nuggets beyond the Clutha mouth. Half way on the road to Portobello is High Cliff, rising 800 feet, in a vertical barrier against the waves. From Portobello an easy drive across the neck of the Peninsula brings the tourist to Cape Saunders lighthouse. The Maori Kaike, with the grave of Taiaroa, is passed on the road to Taiaroa Head. The return trip is made by Ridley's Peninsula to Dunedin, round Broad Bay and Grassy Point to Macandrew's Bay, whence the city again displays itself at every turn of the road with new and varied charms. The total distance covered in this trip is about forty miles.
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Dunedin from Port Road.
Another Peninsula expedition can be made starting from St. Clair, and passing along the beach or by Tahuna Park towards Lawyer's Head. The road dips down into Tomahawk Valley and leads out toward Seal Point and the Gull Rocks, where an impressive view of the sea and coast is obtained. From this point the tourist may cross the centre of the peninsula and return by the main road to Dunedin.
A picturesque excursion may be made to the Taieri mouth, via Corstorphine. The traveller passes through Caversham, and half way up Look Out Point takes the road which leads by Corstorphine to Green Island. From the hill top “the vast expanse of restless ocean, the capacious harbour, the long stretch of coast line from the far north to the Nuggets, the numerous indentations and promontories, half-covered reefs and sea-girt rocks, sandy beaches and beetling cliff, city and suburbs, seaport and shipping, hills, dales and mountains, the varied foliage of the native bush and the contrasting hues of introduced plants, herds and flocks, imposing mansions and sodhuts, and a hundred other objects which meet the eye, bestow an interest on the locality which very few other districts. page 49 can excel.” From Corstorphine past Cargill's Cliffs the road runs south and inland, by the Kaikorai Valley, and the Roslyn Mills, through the industrial heart of Otago. From this point splendid views are obtained of the ranges of hills that form the background of Dunedin. The road passed through Green Island borough, crosses the Kaikorai stream, and runs down to Brighton, a sheltered harbour, where boating, bathing and fishing can be obtained. The Taieri is crossed from the south to the north side in a punt, and the return trip is made from Brighton by the main south road up the Kaikorai Valley, up to Look Out Point, and thence through the Caversham Valley to town. There are many other trips to the suburbs and surroundings of the city which can be undertaken at least in part by conveyances; but the majority of these lead to country and scenery that is more accessible on horseback or on foot, and repay the trouble of walking too well to be classed as “drives.”