The seaside Otago town of Seacliff was the site of a lunatic asylum for almost 100 years. In 1907 former asylum superintendent Truby King, a resident of nearby Karitāne, set up what was to become the Plunket Society - an organisation to support and advise mothers on baby care. Highly successful, Plunket is still active today.

Dunedin was settled by Scots from 1848, and even its name is a Gaelic version of Edinburgh. Once - but no longer - New Zealand's largest, wealthiest city, Dunedin retains a Scottish sensibility, with its stone buildings, Highland games, bagpipers and chilly weather - as well as whisky and haggis on offer around town. Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number C293).

Dubbed 'scarfies' for the scarves they sport at rugby games, Dunedin's Otago University students make up a sixth of the city's population. Many live in run-down flats and adopt a rebellious, partying culture - occasionally to the point of burning sofas and rioting in the streets.

Scottish poet Robbie Burns is remembered by a statue in Dunedin - but the city has also been home to many other bards, including Thomas Bracken, who composed the words to New Zealand's national anthem, and the counter-culture poet James K. Baxter. A host of latter-day musical bards are responsible for the 'Dunedin sound' - jangly guitars and thoughtful lyrics, mostly associated with alternative music label Flying Nun.

"Abundant wildlife has long drawn people to the Otago Peninsula - though today's visitors are more likely to be appreciating live penguins, seals, albatrosses and sea lions, rather than hunting birds for their meat and feathers, or whales for their oil. Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number Spectrum 228).

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Balclutha began life as 'The Ferry', the site of a ferry crossing on the mighty Clutha River from 1852. Gold brought new settlers, and a bridge was built, but was lost - along with four others further upstream - in a flood in 1878. The current bridge opened in 1935, prompting four days of celebration by delighted locals.

What do a leaping brown trout, a Romney ram and a guitar have in common? They all feature in giant sculptures in Gore, famed for its trout fishing, sheep farming and country music - and for the excellent Eastern Southland Art Gallery.

New Zealanders are famous for their 'no. 8 wire' mentality - ingenuity and creativity using basic materials. Hayes hardware store in Invercargill is run by the descendants of Ernest Hayes, who invented an array of farming gadgets in the late 19th century. The store also features the remarkable motorcycles designed and built by local speedster Burt Munro.

New Zealand's southernmost town is known for its seafood, and more fish and shellfish is landed there than at any other New Zealand port. Bluff is famed for its creamy, delicious oysters, but blue cod, crayfish, mussels and pāua (abalone) are also on the menu. Muttonbirds - actually sooty-shearwater chicks - are harvested from offshore islands each autumn by Māori.

The peaceful town of Winton was the centre of a national scandal in 1895. Local woman Minnie Dean, a 'baby farmer' who looked after infants in her home, was convicted of murdering one of her young charges, and the bodies of several children were found buried in her garden. Dean is the only woman to ever be hanged in New Zealand.