Tunnel Beach

Step sideways into another dimension—well, a Victorian novel dimension that is—and visit the evocative Tunnel Beach, where, in the 1870’s John Cargill, son of Captain Cargill, dug a tunnel down to a secluded beach so that the family could bathe in privacy away from the prying eyes of locals. For centuries the great southern ocean and its salt-laden wind have sculpted this sandstone coastline south of Dunedin. The line of high cliffs, arches and headlands provide endless vantage points for breathtaking views that would have got any Brontë sister's imagination going.

Tunnel Beach is backed by massive sandstone boulders so it was quite something to carve a tunnel through it - well Cargill probably got some staff to do the digging but still, it's a big job. There's also mysterious graffiti carved into the cliffs and a dangerous rip that sadly drowned Cargill's youngest daughter so be careful if swimming.

The Tunnel Beach Walkway, just two kilometres south of Dunedin, is an easy one-hour return walk - although there's obviously a bit of a climb involved. Careful examination will reveal shell fragments and possibly a fossil, such as a brachiopod shell or echinoderm (sea urchin), or even bones from an extinct whale. At the top of the tunnel and on the promontories, the rock supports tenacious plant species, such as spleenwort, that happily grow without soil. The walk is at its best around low tide.