photogenic
Tunnel Beach
A hand-cut sandstone tunnel commissioned in the 1870s descends through the cliff to a hidden cove with a sea arch and stacks, south of Dunedin. A steep 20-minute walk down.
2 km · about 5 min drive
Otago, New Zealand · Oceania
Saint Clair works well as a base: 5 minutes from Tainui, 9km from Baldwin Street.
Saint Clair is a town located in Otago, New Zealand. With a population of 2,390, it is an important destination in Oceania.
On a road trip, Saint Clair sits in New Zealand, where you drive on the left. It's in the Pacific/Auckland time zone. Below you'll find where to stay, things to do nearby, and everything you need to add Saint Clair to your route.
The ruins of Cargill's Castle stand on a promontory overlooking the Pacific Ocean in New Zealand's southern city of Dunedin. It is one of about ten castles in New Zealand, the other one in Otago being nearby Larnach Castle. More a castle in name than in fact, this Italianate mansion was built for Edward Cargill,Read more
eighth child of city founder William Cargill, in the late 19th century, who called it The Cliffs. Designed by the young architect Francis Petre, and built in concrete by Harry Lyders at a cost of £14,000, it was completed in 1877. Several kilometres south of the castle is Tunnel Beach, so named because this quiet beach is only accessible through a steeply sloping tunnel cut into the 60 metres (200 ft) high cliffs by the Cargill family. It is also very likely that Petre was the supervisor of the construction of the tunnel. While designing the house, Petre fell in love with Cargill's daughter Margaret. After a difficult courtship (due to Petre's staunch Catholicism and the Cargill family's equally staunch Presbyterianism) the couple were eventually permitted to marry, the wedding taking place in the villa's principal salon on 1 March 1881.
The building was gutted by a fire in 1892, Cargill restored the castle but was unable to meet the cost of replacing all the wooden furnishings, though he did add a ballroom. The castle had several owners after Cargill's death in 1903, and was opened as a restaurant and cabaret in the 1930s by John Hutton, which became popular with visiting servicemen during World War II. Plans have been made on several occasions to restore the building to its former glory, but none have yet borne fruit. The castle now lies in ruins, a shell of what it once was. There is no public access to the site.
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Saint Clair offers many attractions including tourist sites, museums, parks, and local restaurants. Explore famous landmarks, scenic roads, and natural wonders on our interactive map and plan your visit.
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Saint Clair is located in Otago, New Zealand, Oceania. The coordinates are -45.9167 latitude, 170.4833 longitude.
Saint Clair has a population of approximately 2,390 people, making it a town in New Zealand.
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Essential numbers in New Zealand
Many rural bridges are single-lane. Give way as signed.
Full driving guide for New Zealand4 notable places within an hour's drive.
photogenic
A hand-cut sandstone tunnel commissioned in the 1870s descends through the cliff to a hidden cove with a sea arch and stacks, south of Dunedin. A steep 20-minute walk down.
2 km · about 5 min drive
famous road
Dunedin's famously vertiginous suburban street, long certified by Guinness as the world's steepest at a 35% gradient: a quirky bucket-list detour for any South Island road trip.
9 km · about 15 min drive
castle
1871 Gothic Revival mansion on the Otago Peninsula, New Zealand's only castle, with gardens and views over Otago Harbour.
12 km · about 25 min drive
beach
A steep dune descent on the Otago Peninsula leads to a beach where New Zealand sea lions haul out and yellow-eyed penguins come ashore at dusk, watched from a DOC hide.
13 km · about 25 min drive
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