Style_ April 01, 2021

Style | Travel 69
Mount Cargill and the Organ Pipes
To drive to the top of Mount Cargill from the city
centre, travel north on Great King Street and follow
Pine Hill Road to Cowan Road, which then continues
to the top; a distance of 10km. This last section of
road is very rough.
Looming over Dunedin from the north, 676-metre
Mount Cargill is very exposed and often shrouded
in cloud, creating a unique subalpine environment
on the summit just a short drive away from the
city. While there is a road to the top (very rough
on the final section), the best way to experience
Mount Cargill is by foot via the Organ Pipes. This
two-hour return walk is not difficult (most of the
climbing is in the first 15 minutes) and the track
winds through fine bush, ferns and mosses. What
look like carefully shaped steps are in fact natural
formations of broken rock from the Organ Pipes.
The mountain is part of the rim of a volcano
and the Pipes are basalt rocks that have been
shaped into very precise geometric forms during
the cooling process. The views from the top
are superb. If you want to walk to the top then
follow North Road in the North East Valley until
it eventually morphs into Mount Cargill Road, a
distance of 8km. The car park is 3km from here on
the left, but there is very limited parking space.
Sunset over Port Chalmers and Mount Cargill.
Aramoana
From the city centre take SH 88 to
Port Chalmers and then continue
following the coast on the Aramoana
Road to the end; a distance of 25km.
Essentially, Aramoana is a large
sandbar protecting the sheltered
waters of the Otago Harbour from
the open sea. Facing the ocean
is a wide sweep of white sand
broken by the long breakwater,
constructed to stop the harbour
channel from silting up. Directly
opposite Taiaroa Head, Aramoana
is a good spot to watch albatross
in flight (binoculars will come in
very handy), and fur seals and
blue penguins are not uncommon
on the beach. Just inside the
breakwater, a track and boardwalk
lead through the wide tidal salt
marshes, home to numerous
wading birds including godwits in
the summer months.
Aramoana Beach and Heyward Point.