Pride of the South - Brewery & Otago Museum

Sample a selection of unique beers at the Speight’s Brewery and then delve into the history of the Otago region by browsing natural history exhibits in Dunedin’s museum.

After departing from the pier, you will soon arrive at Speight’s Brewery, which has been in the same location since opening in 1876. While touring this eight-floor Dunedin icon, you will discover that it is a rare gravity-fed brewery and one of only two in the world that uses a certain open vat that allows Speight’s to produce beers from the original recipes.

Later, you will sample several beers, some of which will capture those 19th-century flavors. The tastes also reflect the water from the natural spring under the brewery.

Continuing on, you will stop at a nearby alehouse for a hearty lunch that may include fresh cod fried in batter made with Speight’s beer. Afterwards, you will browse the Stories of the South exhibit in the Otago Museum. The displays show how the land in the Otago region has shaped the lives of New Zealanders from the Maori to the European immigrants.

You may also see the world’s largest collection of extinct moa skeletons, the remains of an extinct Haast’s giant eagle and the country’s largest fossil, a 23-foot-long aquatic plesiosaur. The stories behind these discoveries are just as intriguing as the exhibits.

Returning to the pier, you will pause for photos of the celebrated Dunedin railway station, which was built in 1906 with a Gothic spire and Italianate clock tower.