Looking around Oamaru

December 27 was our first full day in Oamaru.  With the excitement of the penguin colony still in our heads, we gathered for breakfast in the hostel and then Bob, Alison and the kids set off on a bicycle tour of the area while Lolly and I set off on foot to explore the back corners of this little city.

Only a few short blocks from our door, the main business corridor stretched along Thames Street, State Hi-way 1, the main highway leading through town.  Things were more lively along the row of shops and businesses than one expect considering Kiwis were still celebrating the Christmas holiday. We poked along, stepping into shops that caught our fancy, window shopping and people watching.  Our stroll south toward the old historic district was interrupted was interrupted when we stepped into a coffee-house to enjoy a flat white (a coffee with milk added with a tantalizingly flourish).  Granted there were several customers there but the barista managed to stretch out preparing the coffee for 25 minutes!  How I craved the quick "pump and serve" at Kwiktrip back home.  The expression, "Grab a cup of coffee" does not occur much in new Zealand.

After we sipped our coffee, we moved back onto the street and continued our journey.  Many of the building on the active street were also constructed of the creamy white Oamaru limestone: a few banks, the old post office.  Some had been government buildings or banks and now found themselves reclaimed as restaurants,dress shops and other less authoritarian enterprises.  Many of the limestone relics had had their exteriors cleaned and presented a very bright presence; some, I could tell, had actually been painted, more often than not, a more yellow hue than the original stone would cherish.

Whimsical sculpture

The tourist office was housed in a limestone antiquity at the far end of the street. A couple very eccentric, whimsical sculptures stood in the center of the street giving cause to a chuckle or a smile to the passerby.

Hand crafted furniture store in Historic District

A short walk around the corner and we were in front of the Criterion Hotel at Harbour and Tyne.  The narrow streets in the historic district still had an eeriness about them, but it was somewhat damped by the presence of bustling tradesmen and shoppers coasting in and out of several shops along the street.  Several of the storefronts were occupied by craftsmen and artists as combination shops or studios and retail outlets for their wares. There were painters, jewelry makers, sculptors.  We stopped in a furniture shop where the pieces were all handcrafted and chatted with the owner for awhile.  We learned that at one time not long ago, his business stretched down the street filling several of the spaces that now were vacant.  Imports from Asia hastened the demise of the fine furniture business. Too frequent a sad tale.  His furniture was the kind that would pass down through generations in a family.  I really liked many of the items he had and none were particularly exorbitant - a handsome sea chest crafted of a native wood was priced at NZ$500.


We lazily moved along the street enjoying the architecture and the goods on display.  Around the end of the street the open doors of an antique velocipede shop beckoned us in. 

Radio Museum

We chatted and joked with the owner and continued on our way.  As lunch time neared we headed back up the street intent on finding a place to eat.  On the way we discovered a small radio station and museum and, curious, peeked in.  The foyer and interior room was stacked from floor to ceiling with old radios, gramophones, phonographs and all other sorts of paraphernalia associated with radio or recording. At the rear of the main room a small radio studio was separated off with a glass window through which we saw a thin, bearded elderly gent talking lively into a microphone -broadcasting to the community.  While we were looking around, he finished his "gig" and came out of his studio and engaged us in conversation.  

As we talked, the name of Janet Frame came up. I had mentioned my impression that the Historic District had an eerie, spooky aura about it.  She had made a similar observation and she should know as she was, except for some travels abroad, a lifelong resident of Oamaru and perhaps New Zealand's most celebrated author.  Before traveling to New Zealand, we had researched books and movies associated with the country and found An Angel at My Table based on an autobiography about her life.  We watched it and became at least curious if not enamored this woman. As our conversation progressed, we learned that this gentleman was also the curator of the Janet Frame house and was headed there after lunch.  We assured him we would be there that afternoon and bade our goodbyes.


We found an interesting restaurant, the Star and Garter -one of New Zealand's oldest restaurants, around the corner on Itchen Street.  Lolly and I both had tasty grilled sandwiches with a ginger beer.  We called Bob on the cell to see if they were ready to join us, but they had already found a place uptown to quell the ferocious appetites generated by a couple hours of cycling.  We headed back up the main street after lunch and met up with them already finishing their lunch at Fat Sally's.  Lolly told Alison about a bead shop we had stopped in, so she opted for going there to have a look-around and bob headed back to the hostel with the kids.  Lolly and I made our way up the street into the residential area and Janet Frame's house.

Oamaru has a Rep Theatre

The Criterion Hotel

Some of the many shops along Harbour Street.

Overly decorated car

Called the Stable, but no horses evident

The Bike Shop

Entrance to Sculptor's shop on Tyne Street

The Bead Shop

Used-book store 

Bob and Alison in restuarant