NOTES FROM THE OTAGO COAST

This season we noticed...

Spring brings a subtle shift in rhythm along the Otago coast. The evenings grow longer, blossoms cover the trees, lambs fill the paddocks and the landscape takes on a new lightness. After winter, there is a sense of things beginning to move again — of what has crystallised over the quieter months starting to thaw, find flow and make room for new beginnings.

Across Ōtepoti Dunedin and north towards Ōamaru, gardens come into flower and the region opens itself to another season of discovery. This spring, that feeling has a new companion: Lonely Planet has included Dunedin and Waitaki among its Best in Travel destinations for 2027.

It is welcome recognition for a part of Aotearoa we have long loved for its character, remarkable coastline, gardens and quietly extraordinary wildlife.

At The Longhouse, spring is a season of beginnings, too. New plantings are taking shape in the garden — flowering shrubs, foliage plants and a small flower patch that will evolve over time. There is something satisfying about watching a landscape develop slowly, with each season bringing its own possibilities. We look forward to seeing what takes root.

LOOKING OUT

Spring also brings the Garden Ōtepoti Festival, a week of garden tours, events and workshops across the region.

Nature has pulled out all the stops and the new growth has seen gardens turn up the saturation: the Daffodils, Rhododendrons, flowering Cherries and Magnolia are out in bloom across the region to delight and enchant us all. A switch to daylight savings brings more light and life to each passing day.

AROUND KARITĀNE

A Season for Gatherings

Spring also marks the beginning of another wedding season at The Longhouse. The house and gardens take on a different kind of energy as couples begin to imagine their celebrations here.

Recently, we welcomed a bridal shoot to the house — an opportunity to see The Longhouse through a fresh lens, and to capture the details, textures and quiet beauty of this coastal setting. We look forward to sharing more from the shoot in the months ahead, and to welcoming other creative teams who see the possibilities here for photography, film and thoughtful storytelling.

IN THE GARDEN

Spring at The Longhouse

We’ve been planning some new plantings at The Longhouse for a while now and spring 2026 saw us get this project started. We’ve planted more ornamental and flowering shrubs - beautiful Lilacs & Limelight Hydrangeas, Leptospermum Copper Sheen and “Baby Blue” Gum for foliage and florals for our guests and smaller weddings. We are sowing an array of florals and perennials to grace our herbaceous borders and a new dedicated flower patch. We can’t wait to share this evolving project with you.

THIS SEASON

LOOK FOR Whitebait season has opened on the 1st of September and runs to the end of October and The Wakouaiti Estuary is dotted with white-baiting enthusiasts. This delicacy is highly sought after and the season a short few weeks.

Bar-tailed godwits (kuaka) arrive in New Zealand—including coastal estuaries and mudflats. These birds may be seen in Blueskin Bay and Karitane in Otago from early September.

WALK The tidal mudflats and sandspits of the Waikouaiti Estuary and Blueskin Bay provide the perfect, nutrient-rich environment for these exhausted birds to rebuild their fat reserves. Time your visit near high tide. As the rising water covers their feeding grounds, the godwits gather in tighter, visible flocks at their favourite roosting sites along the upper banks and sandspits.

LISTEN FOR Godwit calling in the estuary and the sound of tui and bellbirds as the flaxes begin to flower

LOOK UP Sea birds in flight over the ocean. Spring blossoms

TASTE Whitebait fritters and asparagus - freshly picked from the garden.

DRINK Spring Time is perfect for a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or a locally made gin and tonic (we love Lover’s Leap from Sandymount Ditstillery).

NOTICE The blooms that are everywhere.

READING

Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein

Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth

East of Eden by John Steinbeck whilst devouring the Netflix series East of Eden filmed around Ōtepoti Dunedin & Waitaki)

LISTENING

Wave after Wave Max Richter

Letters The National Forest

DOAC- Ed Zitron AI Critic

ON THE HORIZON

Surf Championships
Over 200 surfers from Australia, Asia and the Pacific are expected for the Dunedin Junior and ProQS4000 events at St Clair Beach from 16-21 March 2027.

Total Solar Eclipse
22 July 2028. We are in for a celestial extravaganza. A rare alignment is coming to Otepoti.
On 22 July 2028 , Dunedin will experience a rare total solar eclipse- for the first time since 1163AD.
The event falls just eight days after Matariki- our Maori New year - marked by the appearance of the Pleiades star cluster in our night skies.

A FINAL SEASONAL THOUGHT…

"This comes as no surprise to those of us who have long known of Dunedin’s appeal, but it’s great the rest of the world has caught on…" - Mayor of Dunedin Sophie Barker. There is so much to explore in this region.