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The drive from the centre of Dunedin to Portobello takes roughly 20 minutes. Those wishing to extend their scenic journey, could consider continuing on by bicycle towards Taiaroa Head, 13km away.

There are a few small hills as you pass harbour bays and cycle past old farmhouses and huge macrocarpa trees. At the Otakou fishing wharf you’ll be assured of hundreds of gulls, perhaps surrounding a fishing boat or two, and many wading birds, including royal spoonbills looking for food in the shallows.

Further along is Wellers Rock, where in 1831 the Weller brothers set up the whaling station that became the first European settlement in Otago. Maori have occupied this area for about 700 years and although the pa has gone from the heads there is still a marae at Otakou.

The road passes houses, cribs, lean-tos and add-ons with their million-dollar views before it heads up the bluff of Harington Point.

The views from here are great — the harbour, Aramoana, the mole and the ocean, punctuated by the occasional sight of the bright orange pilot boat with its rooster tail of churning water.

The hill has its own reward with a rapid descent to Pilots Beach and back up the other side to the Royal Albatross Centre. In 1914, royal albatrosses were first noticed visiting the site. It wasn’t until 1937 that efforts began to protect the birds so that they could breed and it is a quite a success story now, with up to 100 birds coming back each year. In April, the chicks are growing fast and it is an ideal time to view the parents coming and going, to and from the sea, bringing food.

The centre offers lots of information and refreshments as well as tours. The cliffs beyond the car park offer fantastic views of the lighthouse and keeper’s house which were built in 1864 by Dunedin builder Hugh Calder, from locally quarried stone. The buildings were painted white and lined with kauri and have distinctive red roofs. The original light was red — to be different from the one at Cape Saunders — and was brought out from Scotland by James Balfour who had been appointed provincial marine engineer.

Looking down, you’ll likely see fur seals on the rocks, giant bull kelp swirling in the waves, and spotted shags in crevices in the cliffs.

Cycling back to Portobello, the steep bits are short and the return is comfortably made in two and a-half hours.