The surf beaches around Otago are one of Dunedin’s greatest assets, although you need to invest in a thick wetsuit to make the most of them all year round. Out of peak traffic hours St Clair is only ten minutes drive from the Octagon, and it really is the South Island's mini Surfers Paradise.
Since the pioneers arrived people have been coming to the beach to recreate; however, it wasn’t until 1913 that the concrete Esplanade was built. Today, St Clair is a trendy and somewhat pricey suburb to live in. Geoff and I looked at a couple of houses out there which were waaaay beyond our budget.
At St Kilda, Marlow Park has a dinosaur slide, snake swing set and sandcastle mole hill for the littlies and not so littlies to play on. There is also a scale road map laid out on a tar sealed area. Here, ‘younguns’ can learn about road signs while they ride their bikes through mock intersections, traffic lights and roundabouts.
Barnes Lookout gives you a good view northwards and if you wander out to Second Beach you can gain the best perspective of how see St Clair melds into Middle Beach, St Kilda and the Otago Peninsula beyond Lawyers Head.
The ‘Head’ does look decidedly like a male profile with a wig on. I wonder about the sense of humour of the city's founding fathers as the original sewage outlet was from underneath it, were they suggesting that lawyers spout faecal matter? Who knows... What I do know is that Geoff and I plan to make regular visits to enjoy the luscious beach side cafes, salt water pool, and most importantly the waves which are closely watched over by the very active St Clair Surf Club.
Since the pioneers arrived people have been coming to the beach to recreate; however, it wasn’t until 1913 that the concrete Esplanade was built. Today, St Clair is a trendy and somewhat pricey suburb to live in. Geoff and I looked at a couple of houses out there which were waaaay beyond our budget.
At St Kilda, Marlow Park has a dinosaur slide, snake swing set and sandcastle mole hill for the littlies and not so littlies to play on. There is also a scale road map laid out on a tar sealed area. Here, ‘younguns’ can learn about road signs while they ride their bikes through mock intersections, traffic lights and roundabouts.
Barnes Lookout gives you a good view northwards and if you wander out to Second Beach you can gain the best perspective of how see St Clair melds into Middle Beach, St Kilda and the Otago Peninsula beyond Lawyers Head.
The ‘Head’ does look decidedly like a male profile with a wig on. I wonder about the sense of humour of the city's founding fathers as the original sewage outlet was from underneath it, were they suggesting that lawyers spout faecal matter? Who knows... What I do know is that Geoff and I plan to make regular visits to enjoy the luscious beach side cafes, salt water pool, and most importantly the waves which are closely watched over by the very active St Clair Surf Club.
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