The Southern Compass | Self-Guided Audio Tours of Dunedin & Otago

Otago Harbour by Bike - Self-guided Audio Cycle Tour

Otago Harbour by Bike: A Storyteller's Tour

A self-guided Dunedin cycling tour exploring harbour history, Māori heritage, and engineering feats

Listen on VoiceMap
Download Otago Harbour by Bike: A Storyteller's Tour and start your ride whenever you’re ready.

Introduction

Experience the best of Dunedin by bike on this self-guided audio tour of Otago Harbour. Following the scenic Te Aka Ōtākou and Te Ara Moana cycle paths, this route takes you around the entire harbour, uncovering stories of Māori history, gold rush ambition, and remarkable feats of engineering—all while riding at your own pace.

To extend your Dunedin exploration, consider combining this ride with other nearby tours:

Port Chalmers Walking Tour – explore the historic seaport, boutique streets, and heritage buildings, which you’ll pass through along your cycling route.
Dunedin City Walking Tour – take a shorter urban walk through Dunedin’s heritage streets, architecture, and hidden gems either before or after your harbour ride.

These tours pair perfectly with the Otago Harbour cycle, giving you the chance to experience both scenic harbour landscapes and Dunedin’s historic city heart in one day.

About the Otago Harbour by Bike Tour

Explore the scenic shoreline of Otago Harbour on two wheels with this GPS-guided audio tour. Following the purpose-built Te Aka Ōtākou and Te Ara Moana cycle paths, you’ll discover how this dramatic volcanic landscape was shaped by Māori settlement, Scottish pioneers, gold rush ambition, and incredible engineering feats.

The harbour has two distinct personalities: the industrial western shore and the residential leisure peninsula. Hear tales of the industries that built Dunedin, the pioneers and scoundrels who settled here, and the hidden histories buried just beneath the surface. From bustling port activity to tranquil bays, you will experience the full sweep of the harbour’s past and present.

The tour begins at Ravensbourne, follows the path to Port Chalmers, and includes the Port to Port ferry across to Portobello before returning along the peninsula. The VoiceMap app uses GPS to play stories automatically, letting you focus on riding and taking in the stunning views. The tour concludes near the city centre at the distinctive public sculpture known as “The Teeth.”

What you’ll experience on this cycle tour

Hear about the infamous “Ravensbourne Perfume” from the once-dominant fertiliser works
Discover the legend of “Grannie” Gunn, the formidable “Witch of Ravensbourne”
Learn why Port Chalmers was the historic departure point for Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Antarctic expedition
Hear the tragic story of William Larnach and his family home, later Larnach Castle
Find out how a Māori chief’s name was mispronounced to become “Pineapple Rock”
Uncover the hidden history of the Parihaka prisoners and hand-built stone seawalls that underpin modern roads
Picture the lively Vauxhall Gardens, a 19th-century amusement park with zoo and dance hall
Learn about tohu whenua (cultural markers) highlighting Kāi Tahu history along the route

This tour reveals the harbour’s true character—a place where the stories of engineers, artists, pioneers, and prophets are written into the landscape itself, all set against a backdrop of remarkable natural beauty.

To extend your Dunedin exploration, consider combining this ride with other nearby tours:

Port Chalmers Walking Tour – explore the historic seaport, boutique streets, and heritage buildings, which you’ll pass through along your cycling route.
Dunedin City Walking Tour – take a shorter urban walk through Dunedin’s heritage streets, architecture, and hidden gems either before or after your harbour ride.

These tours pair perfectly with the Otago Harbour cycle, giving you the chance to experience both scenic harbour landscapes and Dunedin’s historic city heart in one day.

Practical information

Duration: approx. 2–3 hours (depending on pace and ferry)
Distance: ~20 km / 12 miles (round trip via Port to Port ferry)
Start point: Ravensbourne, Dunedin
Best for: cyclists, history enthusiasts, heritage lovers, independent travellers