Port Chalmers on Otago Harbour is Dunedin's main port and a lovely old port town. It’s about 20 kilometres from central Dunedin. There are good cafes and a couple of great viewpoints overlooking the town and port.
Like many other towns on the South Island, it has benefitted from being relatively important in the 1800s, resulting in some substantial Victorian and Edwardian buildings and houses. Limited growth thereafter provides a strong sense of the town’s history.
It’s easy to incorporate the town into a trip to Aramoana at the harbour mouth. Scenic Blueskin Road starts at Port Chalmers and climbs 300 metres above the town to the Orokonui Bird Sanctuary, then drops back down to Waitati. You can also take a loop back to Dunedin on Mount Cargill Road.
