The Doctors Point area has three separate crags, each with its own character, with 50+ routes developed during 1998–2000. Potential is limited only by your imagination and your concept of what is climbable rock! Give the area a chance, it grows on you, but be careful. The crags face north, getting all-day sun in winter; Coalition Crag in particular is very sheltered, and has Dunedin’s best winter micro-climate (and the warmest sea-water).
From Dunedin, take the Northern Motorway to Waitati (19 km). Turn R at Waitati, then next L and follow the road to Doctors Point (3 km from motorway turnoff). The carpark is notorious for car break-ins – leave no valuables.
To access the Railway Cutting crag, climb up the grassy slope to the railway line, which traverses the hill about 75m above the beach (10 mins walk).
An alternative way to the cutting is to turn into White Rd (it really is white) 700m before the beach and park at the railway crossing. Walk east along the line for 10 minutes to the tunnel portal, which marks the RH end of the crag. Keep a careful watch for trains, and stay out of the tunnel at all times.
Alternative access from the east is as follows: from Mapoutahi crag, walk 100 m to the neck of the peninsula (Mapoutahi Pa, a near impregnable Maori fortress inhabited until the 18th century). A rough track ascends the spur to the railway line, coming out close to the eastern portal of the tunnel. Total walking time from Mapoutahi crag to Railway Cutting crag – 20 minutes.
The Arches area is a 300m walk east along the beach from the Doctors Point carpark. The routes before the arches are spaced along the cliffs above the sandy beach which can be a little tricky an hour each side of high tide, at worst you might get your feet wet. These climbs are often warm and sheltered when it is blowing from the Southwest.