THE ADVENTURE COLLECTIVE® · Independent discovery and booking for outdoor travel
Step into Dunedin’s Southern Cemetery for a 90-minute guided walk shrouded in mystery. Hair Raiser Tours reveals the gripping stories of early settlers—pandemics, tragedies, and dark secrets await in this haunting outdoor journey.
Step into Dunedin’s Southern Cemetery for a 90-minute guided walk shrouded in mystery. Hair Raiser Tours reveals the gripping stories of early settlers—pandemics, tragedies, and dark secrets await in this haunting outdoor journey.
Book with Hair Raiser Tours
Verified experiences and guided adventures in the surrounding area.
Operated by Hair Raiser Tours · Dunedin, Otago
Dunedin’s Southern Cemetery, located at 22 South Road in Kensington, offers far more than a resting place for the city’s past—it’s a sprawling outdoor archive of human stories too vivid and dark to forget. Hair Raiser Tours invites daring visitors on a 90-minute guided walk through this vast historic graveyard where the tragedies and triumphs of early settlers play out amid ancient trees and weathered stones. Far from a typical cemetery stroll, this tour is led by a mysterious cloaked figure who brings the macabre history of Otago’s pioneers to life, threading tales of pandemics, fires, drownings, and other grim events that shaped Dunedin’s early years.
Established in the mid-19th century, Southern Cemetery holds around 20,000 burials. It stands as one of New Zealand’s largest cemeteries, sprawling across rugged hills with splendid views of the city skyline and Otago Harbour. The uneven pathways wind past distinctive sandstone monuments, ornate iron rails, and mossy vaults that reveal both the artistry and melancholy of Victorian-era burial customs. This setting, layered with indigenous flora alongside introduced species like the elegant pohutukawa, creates an eerie yet fascinating backdrop.
Hair Raiser Tours is unique in the local adventure scene: it offers a blend of history, mystery, and storytelling rarely encountered in outdoor tours around Dunedin. This experience appeals especially to visitors interested in cultural heritage, dark tourism, and immersive narratives—contrasting sharply with Dunedin’s more common outdoor offerings like hiking and coastal exploration. It enriches the visitor’s understanding of the city’s identity through those who lived, suffered, and endured here. For anyone with a curiosity for the somber side of history and a taste for spine-tingling stories, this tour transforms a simple cemetery into a chillingly vivid outdoor museum worth visiting.
easy.
1.5 hours.
Suitable for most fitness levels as walking is on gentle slopes with frequent stops
The tour is best suited to older children who can handle mature themes and a steady walking pace.
Yes, Hair Raiser Tours operates throughout the year but recommends dressing appropriately for seasonal weather.
The terrain includes gentle slopes and uneven ground, which may pose challenges for those with limited mobility.
Private tours may be available; contact Hair Raiser Tours directly to inquire about options.
Pets are not permitted to maintain the respectful atmosphere of the historic cemetery.
The guide recounts accounts of early settlers’ tragedies including pandemics, fires, and drownings, bringing the cemetery’s history vividly to life.
Southern Cemetery was established in 1858 and serves as a window into Dunedin’s formative years, displaying varied burial styles and reflecting social changes.
The cemetery is managed to preserve both its historical monuments and native vegetation, with efforts to minimize erosion and protect local bird habitats.
Hair Raiser Tours is a Dunedin-based tour operator specialising in guided ghost, crime and cemetery walks across Otago. The company offers a suite of 90-minute experiences that explore Dunedin's supernatural history, true crime stories and botanical heritage, with routes that include the Gothic Northern Cemetery, Southern Cemetery, the Old Gaol and the port town of Port Chalmers. Each tour focuses on factual history and storytelling: The Dunedin Crime Tour examines the city's criminal past and culminates with an after-dark visit to the Old Gaol; the Ghost Garden and Northern Cemetery tours combine cemetery botany and folklore with ghostly accounts; the Dunedin Ghost Tour features twilight visits and an exclusive Ghost Gallery; the Southern Cemetery Tour explores early settler tragedies; the Shiver Street Tour highlights true crime locations guided by Andrew Smith; and the Port Chalmers Ghost Tour investigates maritime hauntings and local legends. Guides present research-based narratives, cemetery history, architectural context and recorded local anecdotes. Tours run approximately 90 minutes and are presented in public walking formats suitable for adults and older teens. Hair Raiser Tours operates in central Dunedin and surrounding historic sites in Otago, making it a focused option for visitors seeking immersive historical and supernatural walking experiences. The business emphasises respectful engagement with cemetery sites and community histories while delivering guided after-dark storytelling and site visits for those interested in Dunedin's darker heritage. Tours accommodate small groups and visitors can book public departures or enquire about private arrangements for special dates and events year-round by prior arrangement.
Book with Hair Raiser Tours