Oamaru Off The Beaten Path

After walking and viewing the Moeraki Boulders, we headed on towards Dunedin, stopping off at Shag Point, which is only another 11kms down the road. This point has lookouts and good views of the Ocean and we saw many Seals that were basking on the rocks
The Yellow eyed penguin and NZ fur seal is found here, we only saw the fur Seals, as dawn and dusk is when penguins are most likely to be seen, none were around in the middle of the day.
The viewing area is only meters from the car park, so its easy for people with walking difficulties.

Shag Point’s most recent history is it was the first place in New Zealand where coal was used for commercial purposes. Mine shafts ran kilometres out under the seabed until mining ceased in 1974.

And yes, SHAG'S are seen here too!

As we are from Australia, we were very surprised to hear about the population of Bennett's / Red Necked wallabies living around Waimate.

They were introduced from Australia and now live in the in the countryside surrounding the town with some being farmed. Their introduction to New Zealand came about in 1870, when a Captain Thomson brought several wallabies from Tasmania to Christchurch. Two females and one male from this stock were later brought to Te Waimate the property of Waimate's first European settler Michael Studholme. Since 1874 numbers have increased dramatically, obviously, they must like living here! Their numbers are so large they are now considered as pests.

Unfortunately wallabies have also developed a taste for swede that is grown in the area, this makes them enemies of the Farmer.

At Animal parks in Waimate you can view, learn & feed tame Bennett wallabies, and you can also see them in Victoria Park in the animal enclosure.

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If you are travelling to Dunedin by road, instead of taking the main highway, Take the scenic coast road to KAKANUI, and rejoin the main road at Waianakarua river.

Just outside of Oamaru are market gardens and beautiful seaside views. Further on, take the side road to the MOERAKI BOULDERS, stop and have a look here. Next stop, is SHAG POINT, there a quite a few Seals that you can see close up. KARITANE, originally a Kai Tahu settlement dating back to ancient times. A whaling station was established in 1837. There is a lookout on the hill overlooking the pretty bay. Finally, DUNEDIN.

A good scenic drive recommended by the Tourist Info centre for us to do, and well worth it.

St Augustine's Church [1872] we came across on our tour around the town of Waimate.

What a lovely church it was!

It is painted wood, I have read built from Matai & Totara trees that came from the Waimate forest.

St Augustine's lantern tower is different! The Bell tower, built in 1903, has a square spire and ornate gables over louvered windows of the belfry. Head inside to see the lovely stained glass windows, some which were designed and manufactured in England.

Location....John Street, Waimate

The White Horse is something that caught our eye when visiting here, it is very hard to miss!

This big White Horse was made from 1,220 concrete slabs with the head being over 2 1/2 tonne and is on the side of Hunter's hill. It was put there in commemoration of the work done by the Clydesdales in developing Waimate district.

Waimate is best seen from the White Horse Lookout.

The monument can be reached on foot via a steep two and a half hour Waimate Walkway, or by car on a seven km unpaved road. (Take a left on Mill Rd. from Queen St. and follow signs to Parkers Rd. and Centrewood Park.)

You can visit many old fashion style cafe, candy shop or even a radio boardcasting station.

This is an old style radio boardcasting station located near the main street and the train station. They feature many antique radios and recorders, etc.

They played a song for us during my honeymoon while I was there!

The famous Moeraki Boulders lie scattered along a beach 40km south of Oamaru. They are embedded in the beach and mostly covered at high tide, the almost perfectly spherical Moeraki Boulders are known to Maori as Te Kaihinaki ("food baskets").

According to Maori legend, the boulders are gourds washed ashore from the wreck of a great voyaging canoe Araiteuru, whose occupants were seeking pounamu (greenstone), when it was wrecked upon landfall in New Zealand some 1000 years ago. Despite their appearance, the boulders were not washed up from the sea, but rather lay deep in the mudstone cliffs behind the beach until the sea eroded the cliffs and out fell the smooth boulders.

Scientists explain the boulders as septarian concretions formed about 65 million years ago. Crystallization of calcium and carbonates around charged particles in muddy undersea sediments gradually formed the boulders. The process took as long as 4 million years. The soft mudstone containing the boulders was raised from the seabed around 15 million years ago, and the sea is gradually washing away the mudstone to expose the erosion-resistant boulders.

The viewing platform, just a few minutes walk through regenerating native forest, offers good views of the boulders. If you're lucky, Hector's dolphins will be playing in the waves.

Please see Travelogue for more photos....