Reading time: 5 minutes...

5.50am: Morning loyal Reader! 👍. We hope you’re still enjoying reading about our time in New Zealand. Welcome to Friday’s adventure! 😉

Missed one of these Holiday Posts?
Try clicking HERE
👍☀️😎

Day 24 – Where are we?
(Friday, 22nd November)

8.25am: Today, we said goodbye to a chilly Timaru (7℃) and continued southwards along South Island’s east coast for another 170 miles (ish) to Dunedin (South Island’s second-largest city) – at least the weather forecast suggests that it’s much warmer there. To break up the journey, we planned to stop off in the town of Oamaru, then the very ‘touristy’ Moeraki Boulders, and finally, Shag Point (stop tittering at the back, Tomkins!) 😉 before heading for our final destination.

With plans made, we were soon back on the ‘SH1’ (State Highway 1) and amongst the familiar sights of a ‘very flat Earth’ (and very little traffic). The weather was already beginning to brighten up though! ☀️🌞

First Stop: Oamaru

9.32am: We enjoyed a very pleasant drive to Oamaru! We hardly saw another car, the weather was bordering on sunny and the temperature was on the up! We knew very little about Oamaru except that it had a significant archaeological past and a Victorian Quarter (which got our interest!), oh, and it has a population of around 14000! Ever since we arrived in New Zealand, we’ve been hoping to find a town that preserved its look from bygone years – and it seemed like this was it. 😀😀. The Victorian Quarter only exists because, mercifully, Oamaru has never suffered from an earthquake.

Everything was wonderfully preserved, and it made for a very interesting walk around the old town.

We then wandered down to the old Harbour that offered some spectacular views out across the water.

As we headed back to the main thoroughfare, we passed a steam engine and the refurbished station – Harbourside – all part of the locally recreated train service that operates daily.

We also passed SteamPunk HQ – the town’s interactive Museum – on our way back to the main town.

From the old towards the new(er) as we took a wander along the modern-day thoroughfare. Even here, the public buildings had been kept in good shape. We had been very impressed with this town. Like so many here in New Zealand, everywhere was immaculate, litter-free – and parking was straightforward. Ann took the wheel for the next part of the drive – a short 37km hop to another very touristy destination…

On this second leg, we noticed that the terrain was now a lot more interesting. Hills were back (!!) and the road was far less straight with more steep climbs and long descents.

Second Stop: Moeraki Boulders

10.57am: Our next stop was Moeraki Boulders. My thanks to long-time mate, Ian, for reminding us that this was worth a visit. It’s certainly a well-known tourist attraction and by the time we arrived, the car-park was almost full. The attraction is a series of spherical shaped boulders located on Koekohe Beach between Moeraki and Hampden. Admission is free, but there is now a recommended 2NZD per person to help maintain the wooden staircase that takes you via the shortest route to the Beach (all of 45 seconds!).

In truth, we were a bit hesitant about stopping here, as recent online comments suggested that the photos shown on most websites are now so old, they don’t reflect the reality of what the stones actually look like. Having reviewed quite a few promotional bits and pieces myself about this location, the reality is that in the past few years the sand HAS risen so much on the beach that the boulders have almost disappeared beneath (but not quite!). Anyway, below is what they look like in November 2024, and later, below, you’ll see how the typical online literature promotes them.

..and this is how the Internet and other travel guides are showing them.

The Boulders are definitely worth a visit, if only to see them before they disappear completely. 😯

Third Stop: Shag Point

11.46am: Less than 15km further on along the SH1 was the wink-wink-titter-ye-not location of Shag Point (stop it!! 🤭🤭) – another well-known touristy spot. Named after the seabird, the reason for the visit was not to see these birds in close-up, but to spot, instead, seals bathing on the rocks.

It was only a short detour from the SH1, but once on the side road, KEEP GOING! We almost gave up looking for the official parking area that led to the short walk that gave us the best view.

I didn’t hold out much hope given my whale-watching history (plus, I’ve not seen a single dolphin this holiday either), but I should have been more optimistic!

Indeed, my luck seemed to be turning – I actually spied TWO Seals (although when they saw me, they posed briefly and then disappeared into the water!) and three seagulls. If you’re a wildlife fan, this is a must-see, where hopefully, you’ll see more wildlife than we did. Back at the car, I took the wheel for the final 60(ish) km sprint to our destination in Dunedin.

Final Stop: Dunedin

12.54pm: In less than an hour, we arrived in Dunedin to find a busy City. And if ‘Dunedin’ sounds a little Scottish, then you’d be right. The City is known for its Scottish heritage where in 1848, a Scottish settlement was established by the Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland. Thereafter, between 1855 and 1900 many thousands of Scots emigrated to this City. Dunedin is also proud of its Māori heritage too, as well as the Victorian and Edwardian architecture.

We had some time to kill before we could check into our next accommodation, so we took a quick walk around part of the central area and grab some photos of the architecture.

It’s worth a few extra comments about the Railway Station. It’s world-famous for a start. According to many, the Station is the most photographed building in the country, as well as the second most photographed in the southern hemisphere (No1 is Sydney Opera House). The station was built in 1906, where at the height of rail travel popularity, 100 trains departed the Station each day. The Architect, George Troup, kept the cost of the overall building to £120,000 (equivalent to about $30 million in 2024) but some locals thought that the loos were too extravagant when the Station opened. In the spirit of research, Ann tried them out, and pronounced them ‘fine’! Praise indeed!!! 😉

Some great buildings out there! Again, they’re still here because like Oamaru, Dunedin has never suffered the destruction caused by an earthquake.

Next stop (and in complete contrast) was Woolworth’s! After picking up a few bits and bobs to eat for our time here in Dunedin, we made our way to the Motel for check-in.

Another Night, Another Motel! 👍

2.32pm: Here we are at Amross Motel in Dunedin. We’re here for two nights, and we’ve booked one of their ‘Executive Suites’ at the very reasonable price of £100 per night. We’ve been totally impressed with the standard of Motels out here – they’ve been of a very high standard and always immaculately clean and well-appointed. This one was no exception. To top it all, the weather has improved, and the temperature now sits at a mighty 15℃. Hardly a heatwave but much warmer than when we left Timaru this morning! 👍👍

Driving in New Zealand – The SH1 to Dunedin (205km)

Road Name: SH1
Condition: Very smooth
Lanes: Mostly single with passing points
Terrain: Very hilly in places, especially on the hop from Oamaru
Scenery: Green, plenty of sheep, no cattle. Hilly
Filling Stations: Lost count!
Roadworks: Minimal
Driver Courtesy: Very polite (as usual)
Speed Limits: Mostly 80 km/and 100 km/h
Police/Speed cameras: None seen/Two Cameras (called ‘Safety Cameras’ out here
Total distance today: 205km/127 miles
Total distance driven since we picked up the car: 2198km/1366 miles

Tomorrow, we are continuing to explore Dunedin including Larnach Castle, Fort Taia and Speight’s Brewery 🤪

Catch you all, Saturday 😉