Oamaru

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

We did laundry this morning, leaving the campground at 10:30.  We drove to Oamaru, where we immediately went to Countdown and the last grocery shopping of our NZ trip.  Donna also went in search of a replacement wine glass, as we had accidentally broken one of ours last night.  We walked through the historic precinct on Tyne Street, with all the 19^th century limestone buildings and cobblestone streets.  Oamaru is a quaint town, very proud of its Victorian heritage.  People dressed in Victorian era garb are walking around the streets, posing for photos with tourists.  We also saw tall 2 wheel bikes, with the front wheels measuring 54 cm in diameter (Penny Farthings).  We also went to Bushy Beach in search of yellow-eyed penguins (I have a mystery animal picture of one), but only saw two and at a distance.  We did meet a couple from the Netherlands at Bushy Beach, who we were to meet again in a few days (more on Rob and Mieke later).

When we left Oamaru, we headed for the coast hoping to freedom camp one last time, but no luck as only gated farmers fields around and no really good places to pull over.  So we checked our “Holiday Parks and Campgrounds” guide and headed for Waitaki Waters Holiday Park, our least expensive at $22 (but a great place).  This is an old 1960’s vintage place near a river that has some of the best salmon fishing in the country according to the 30 something owner who had bought the place about 1 year ago, after living in France for ten years.  He only charged $3 for WiFi access for your whole stay (way cheaper than anywhere else), enabling Donna to check e-mail for the first time on the trip, and for us to connect with the home front one last time before we head to Fiji in a few days.  Rain off and on during the night.

Oamaru Pics

 Not down to our last dime yet, but all donations are welcome!

 Bushy Beach

 Mystery animal - the yellow eyed penguin