Oamaru - Steampunk & Penguins

We've put Oamaru on our bucket list mainly because of the large Blue Penguin Colony, therefore the title "Penguin City". But as we had seen them already close in Timaru we shifted our priorities. First we visited the harbour quarter with the famous steam punk museum and old colonial buildings. Unfortunately we came a bit too late to check out a local Whisky distillery.
Afterwards we went on a hike on a hill next to the city center for some magnificent views over the whole bay. It didn't take us long for the loop so we decided to head to a nearby beach where the yellow-eyed penguins are located.
They are a lot more shy than their smaller relatives so you can't go closer than 200m to them. They built a small shed to watch them come ashore but after the first penguins arrived we headed back to the van. We've already experienced them close by and there was a freezing cold wind.Read more