🇳🇿 Dunedin Tunnel Beach: A "Don't Try This" Guide

Officially closed? Challenge accepted." 🚧 Brutally Honest Warnings ❌ Trail is CLOSED (landslide risk + eroded path). ❌ Most areas are private land—trespass = fines! ☔ Never go after rain—the clay path turns into a mudslide death trap. (I went on a dry day and still almost ate dirt.) 📍 How to (Theoretically) Get There 🚌 Bus + 20-min walk (car-free accessible!). 👟 Wear hiking shoes—steep, slippery AF. ⏰ 1-hour round trip (but feels longer with adrenaline). 🌊 Only enter tunnel at low tide (unless you fancy drowning). 📝 Confession Diary: D30 in NZ I illegally hiked to Tunnel Beach (don't @ me). The views? Stupidly beautiful—turquoise waves smashing against sea arches, cliffs glowing in the sun. The tunnel: Claustrophobia warning—it’s narrow, dark, and smells like wet rock. Zero cell signal (RIP if you get stuck). No sea lions (just my imagination and existential dread). The beach: Totally empty (because normal people obey signs). Secret nude swim spot in summer (allegedly). Panic moment: I kept imagining: ➜ Angry sea lions charging (they hate selfies). ➜ Getting swept away like Penida’s Kelingking Cliff. Bailed early and hit St. Clair Beach (nearby surf spot, safer + bus-friendly). ❤️ Why I Still Love Dunedin Cheapest city in NZ (relatively... it’s still NZ). Chinese-friendly (dumpling shops > Fergburger). That one killer Sichuan restaurant: 🥢 "Dumpling" (opposite the library). 🌶️ Twice-ordered water-boiled beef—fed me for 3 meals. #DunedinUncensored #BadDecisionsGoodStories #NZBackpacker