Oamaru — 18 February 2001

Off early to the train — only to find that the train is a bus! Ugh. Several hours in cramped quarters and highway views. On an amusing note, we transferred to another bus at North Palmerston, and Wayne from Christchurch is on the same bus! (Have I mentioned that this is a small country?)

When we finally arrive in Oamaru, there are no taxis to be found, so we walk and walk and walk to our motel. After checking in, we phone a taxi (whose driver forgets to turn on the meter!) to take us to the Whitestone Cafe & Cheese Factory for lunch. After a delicious meal (I had never been a fan of soft cheeses, but the brie and triple-cream here are converting me), we took a slow walk to the local Information Centre to arrange for a tour of the famous boulders for tomorrow. We wandered around a bit and then caught another taxi back to our motel. (We had the same driver as on the way to the cheese factory, and this time she remembers to turn on the meter.)

After a brief rest, we took ANOTHER taxi (if you go to Oamaru and stay in a motel, having a car is handy) to the Last Post Pub (good beer, fair food, nice old building). As the evening progressed, we walked to the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony up the beach. As darkness fell, we saw (and heard! these little guys make a huge racket!) close to 30 little blues hop up from the sea back to their colony The most adorable sight was two tiny chicks popping out of their hole waiting for their parents to bring dinner home, and a little guy and a very molty one waddled right by us. On the way out, we came across a stray penguin on the road. (Not wishing to disturb the little guys with flashes we took no pictures.) We walked back to town and caught the last taxi of the night. Again it was the same driver who took us to dinner. (Jen: there may only be two drivers.) On the way back to the motel, the driver told us he had once had penguin passengers. Seems some of the little guys were blown off course and ended up coming ashore on the opposite side of town. A concerned citizen without a car called for a taxi to take the stray penguins back to the colony.

A giant penguin carved out of whitestone.