By Liz

2nd – 3rd March (rest day)

We happened to arrive into Oamaru at the same time as the second German couple of Geraldine. We shared stories of our last 10 days; they had gone to the coast when we left them, then had done part of the alps to ocean, in reverse, then part of the Otago central rail trail.. they had done many more miles than us!

We stayed our first night at the beach front campsite, which proudly boasted a resident penguin and its chick! Due to popularity there were no tent sites available but we could share a caravan site with the Germans. A bit of a squeeze!

We went for a congratulatory pizza, wings and chips at the local brewery, Scott’s, and met other campers who had also just completed the A2O trail. It was a very merry evening.

Later on we watched the mummy and daddy penguins cross over the road, from the beach to the campsite to be rejoined with their chick. We saw them but it wasn’t til around 10pm that they eventually crossed the road. They were such funny little guys. So cute. When they got to the entrance of the campsite, the daddy penguin went off in a different direction, head down and flat out running to get under cover as fast as possible. The mummy went to the kitchen area where the nest was. The lady who owned the site said that she would wait out for them every night, to make sure they crossed safe and sound!

The next day we packed up the tent and set off to our hostel. We chatted to the other tourers, got advice from them, and gave a Spanish couple some assurance about A2O. They had mountain bikes. Anyone with big tyres we just say – you’ll be fine.

Oamaru is a quaint harbour town. It has a strong Victorian history and this is evident in the architecture of the buildings.

The morning was spent wandering around, it was a Sunday so the bike shop was shut unfortunately. Desperately needed a bit of TLC! We went to the steampunk headquarters which was very cool.

Inside there were lots of curiosities of steam powered engines that were said to have gone to space, and the stories behind the artefacts. It was really well presented. I enjoyed all the fact signs:

It was fun. And there was a light portal which I really enjoyed.

Dotted around the exhibit were animals made out of steam engine parts:

After getting knowledgable on all steampunk stuff we wandered down the historical precinct. It was full of galleries and boutique cafes. You could even dress up like a Victorian and get your photo taken! Unsurprisingly there wasn’t a line out of the door.

Later we checked into our hostel and befriended some retired Australian tourers who had been on the road for 11 months!! They were just finishing up a world trip. Absolutely amazing.

We liked Oamaru. Very sweet place!