Feb 1, 2026 Far above Dunedin
We hiked the Flagstaff trail high above Dunedin today.
It is a well-formed track, with lots of hikers and joggers, on this Sunday at least! Rather steep to get up to the top, then sloping more gradually down the back of the hill.
Looking down on Dunedin, spread out around the end of Otago Harbour.
Māori first settled in the area around 1300. European whalers and sealers began arriving in the early 1800’s and by the late 1830’s the harbor had become an international whaling port. Dunedin itself was established in 1848 by the Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland. By the end of the 1850’s about 12,ooo Scots had emigrated to Dunedin, NZ. The 1860’s brought a Gold Rush that swelled the population with international immigrants and by the mid 1870’s Dunedin was the largest city in NZ with a population of almost 30,000! Eventually overtaken in population and recognition by Auckland and Christchurch, Dunedin can still boast that it is the home of the University of Otago, the oldest university in NZ, established in 1869.
As low clouds began sweeping over the hills, we decided to head back down before we were overtaken by the mist!