Day 177 on the Road
Dunedin’s Most Stunning Beach!
Today we are checking out Tunnel Beach even under the wind and rain! Worth it! If you like this video and want to see more 365 Days: 365 Activities in New Zealand then head on over to our YouTube Channel!
Today we’re going to Tunnel Beach . Tunnel Beach is an iconic beach in Dunedin and it’s glorious. However, the weather is not on our side.
This morning needless to say the weather is not on our side. We were expecting beautiful beach weather but we will have to make do with Tunnel Beach weather. So we are joining Anya which is a German backpacker that we met at the Hogwartz Hostel where we are staying right here and we are making our way toward tunnel Beach. We have to take a bus and then we have about a 20 minute walk to make our way all the way down to the water.
It is best to plan your trip to tunnel Beach during low tide that’s the only time of the day where you will actually be able to access that said Tunnel Beach otherwise you will only be able to see the Tunnel Beach from above the cliffs.
For us today the low tide is at 1.30pm so although it’s mid afternoon we don’t think we’re gonna be jumping in the water any time soon.
Despite the weather we are so glad that we’ve made it to tunnel Beach today as soon as we get onto those clifftops and get an amazing view those sandstone arches we know we’ve made a good choice.
In fact, we made a great choice because the waves are super high today thanks to the high winds and they’re absolutely crashing against the cliff sides and we can see exactly why those archways have been formed. In fact, it’s even hard for us to stand on top of these cliffs with these high winds.
After gazing upon the archway’s beauty for quite some time, we are now making our way to the other side of the cliffs where we are greeted by a couple of really majestic waterfalls tumbling onto the beach below. And the really awesome way to actually access Tunnel Beach is through a tunnel. This is a super fun little manmade tunnel which was actually carved during 1870 when a rich family decided they wanted private access to this beach so actually carved the tunnel themselves or they probably got there servants to carve it for them. Nevertheless, we’re pretty happy that it’s here so we can access this really awesome beach with massive boulders that you can climb on top of, there’s a few rocks to make your way between but the views of the waterfall are absolutely amazing.
Tunnel Beach is also a great place to seek fossils. If you look around the tunnel itself you will find a lot of fossils of seashells and around the two waterfalls there is massive amounts of rocks and in them you’ll be able to spot a ton of fossils as well.
Wandering around the beach, I find myself another small tunnel which leads to a small cave which gives me a little bit of time to reflect upon my trip.
Alright guys so we are in Tunnel Beach there is heaps of people around it’s been raining we are on day 176 or something on this trip I just had enough. I am staying here. I found myself a little cave and it’s big enough for me. I, yeah, I’m moving in. Yep. This is my life now. Me and my rocks. All those rocks here all those rocks here are my friends and i’m gonna stay here. Been cold and wet enough. It’s over. Got a good view. My neighbours are pretty quiet they are a couple of mussels.
So it’s after a little bit of cave nonsense that we are now making our way back toward the top of the cliffs as well as toward the bus because there are not that many bus getting to Tunnel Beach and if you miss it it’s a very very very long hike back to Dunedin city.
While Robin is rushing away to get to bus on time, Anya and I are sort of taking it easy taking some time to take some more photos of this beautiful place as well as have ourselves a little snack.
I’m having a Tunnel Beach snack.
The wind up here is absolutely ridiculous but it is giving us a much needed push to get back up that walking track to the bus stop. the whole Tunnel beach track is a one hour return, it’s super easy, super wide except for after super rainy weather that we’re having at the moment. It’s a little bit slippery.
As per usual I am a huge fan of one way tracks because we get to see the views which were fantastic once again and as soon as we arrive to the bus shelter we find out that this is probably the least effective bus shelter we have ever seen in our lives as we are getting absolutely drenched while waiting for the bus.
this is getting cold, wet and there is no way to avoid any of the rain. Oh well, we’ll put ourselves in the dryer back at the hostel.
