Taiaroa Head is at the far northeast end of Otago Peninsula. Take scenic Harrington Point Road along the coast from Portobello to its end. The head is best known for the Royal Albatross colony, the world's only mainland albatross nesting site.
You need to pay to join a tour to access the viewpoints within the Royal Albatross Centre. If you go into the centre, you also get access to a restored disappearing gun emplacement from the late 1800s – the Russian scare reached Dunedin! You can see a similar gun on top of Mount Victoria in Auckland for free.
The reserve around the centre is free to access and worth visiting. From the high cliffs to the east of the centre, there are nice views over the Otago Harbour towards Aramoana and out over the Pacific Ocean. On the day, the wind blasted through, creating plumes off the ocean.
