Nestled within encircling hills Dunedin is a compact and lively city. The Octagon, the eight sided city centre is the cities’ anchor.

It is surrounded by heritage architecture, framed by St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral the Municipal chambers fronting the Town hall. The Regent Theatre, whose gloriously baroque and romantic interior has been carefully preserved and the cities’ public art gallery housing a remarkable collection of New Zealand and International Art.

The Octagon is presided over by Robbie Burns, the Scottish poet, uncle of The Reverend Thomas Burns, Dunedin’s first minister and church builder.

The cities’ finest buildings are found within a short walk of the Octagon. Just down lower Stuart Street lies the beautifully restored railway station; a few blocks north is the Otago Museum, right beside the campus of the University of Otago, New Zealand’s first.

A little further to the south is a place where thousands gather to worship the oval ball and shout in praise or in damnation, at Carisbrook the home of Otago rugby the house of pain.