Pride Of The South - Brewery & Otago Museum

OVERVIEW

Sample the beers made at a landmark Dunedin brewery and delve into the region’s natural history at the Otago Museum. Speight’s Brewery, a Dunedin icon since it opened its doors in 1876, has done as little as possible to change with the times. Still in its original eight-story location above a natural spring that imparts trademark flavor to its wares, this gravity-fed brewery is one of just two in the world still using an open-style vat to create beers from the original recipes. Sampling several varieties, you’ll find some that deliver a distinctive 19th-century tang. A stop for lunch at a nearby alehouse often involves fresh cod fried in batter made with Speight’s beer. Then it’s on to history of another type as you browse the Stories of the South exhibit in the Otago Museum, showing how this region’s magnificently rugged landscape has shaped the lives of all who’ve settled here. The museum also boasts the world’s largest collection of extinct moa skeletons and the country’s largest fossil, a 23-foot-long aquatic plesiosaur. Your return trip to the pier includes a photo stop at the much-celebrated Dunedin Railway Station, built in checkered Edwardian Baroque style in 1906.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Tour an iconic gravity-fed brewery that’s been making its beer the same way since the 19th century.
• Sample a range of their beers, including some that really do have a delicious ancient taste.
• Browse the exhibits at the Otago Museum, where this region’s natural and cultural history are shown to be connected.
• Enjoy a hearty alehouse lunch, and capture Instagram-worthy photos of one of the fanciest railway station facades you’ve ever seen.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.