Dayout in Oamaru
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OAMARU. Some years ago the hoihos looked to be following the moa to extinction. Thanks to a Mainland Cheese ad on TV, the country Ecotour rallied to help. Many volunteers worked with the Department of Conservation to care for the birds and fence breeding areas to Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony protect them from predators. Located at the end of Waterfront Road in an old quarry. Jim Caldwell, an authority on this colony after working with The admission fee to the viewing platforms - with a commentary them for 20 years, gives guided tours from the viewing hide from provided - contributes towards the research and support of the November to March. colony which has been managed since 1993. At nightfall you can see the little blue penguins waddle out of the sea and make their way to their nests in the cliffs. The little blues Gardens are the smallest of the 17 species of penguins - only about 25 cms These gardens, established in 1876, are planted alongside a creek (10 inches) tall. The colony has the greatest population (90 - 150) used to make the beautiful ponds and small lakes there today. in November and December, and from September on you can see In spring, the rhododendrons and azaleas vie with flowering the chicks. cherries for a brilliant display. In summer, bedding plants, rose and erica gardens provide colour outdoors; begonias and other Bushy Beach flowering plants flourish indoors. Bushy Beach is just a 10 minute drive from the main street of Oamaru. Further stand-out features are a fragrant garden, a Japanese Red Bridge, the Craig Fountain and a Wonderland Garden with a Here you can watch hoiho (yellow-eyed) penguins free of charge. splendid statue given to the children of Oamaru. The gardens A scenic reserve on the south side of Cape Wanbrow, Bushy Beach have some great picnic spots in areas sheltered by magnificent is worth seeing for its geology, wildlife and scenery. As well as trees. hoihos, New Zealand fur seals visit regularly, while Hooker's sea lions, leopard and elephant seals drop in occasionally. Families will also enjoy the children's playground, aviaries and a wallaby park. The gardens are only a few steps away across a Walk along a well-formed track to the hide to watch the penguins linking bridge from the Oamaru Holiday Park with its camping come ashore. If you're lucky, you'll see them porpoise through sites and cabins. the waves before they waddle up the beach. The show isn't over then; walk back along the track a little and wait. The penguins climb up the cliffs and appear at their nests, some of which are only a few metres from the track. There they'll stand with their flippers stretched out to cool down while they wait for their mates to arrive. The raucous cries make you understand how they came by their Maori name, which means 'noise shouter'. 1 MOERAKI Walk Heritage The Moeraki Millennium Walk Moeraki holds the distinction of being the first European settlement in the South Island. But Moeraki's first inhabitants The most interesting part of this walk starts in the village at were the Rapuwai and Waitahi peoples. Centenary Park and Picnic Area between the foreshore and the motor camp. The first Europeans arrived on Boxing Day 1836, when John Two whalers' trypots are a reminder of Moeraki's European Hughes led a party ashore to set up a whaling station. One of his beginnings. party, William Haberfield, wrote, 'The bush was growing down to the edge of the water... the pigeons would come and light on your Take the path to the right towards the headland. heads and the kakas weren't frightened when they saw us.' Members of the Ngai Tahu tribe settled near the whaling station The Iron Jetty (1872) after Te Rauparaha's attack on their pa at Kaiapoi. The population stands stark at the end of a mole that carried transport out to the was boosted by many whalers who stayed on to farm the land jetty. Today it is dangerous and closed off but is enjoyed by a with their families after the number of whales declined. host of seabirds. Missionaries, traders and surveyors arrived, and in the 1860s the At the end of the road past the jetty pause at the helicopter pad. Moeraki port played a key role in the shipping of Oamaru stone. Work started on the Iron Jetty in 1872. Costing 3000 pounds, Imagine this as the site of a pre-European Maori pa. A house it took a year to build, longer than was anticipated because of nearby has two Moeraki boulders flanking its gate. The 'owners' problems embedding the iron screw and pile construction in the - perhaps feeling guilty since removing boulders from the beach sea bed. is now illegal - have provided a notice describing their geology. When you look at the skeleton of the Iron Jetty today, it's easy to Follow the track to the steps. see why the anchorage failed: the jetty was too high for smaller vessels. Commercial fishing, however, has remained an important Stop and look at the rocks and sea below. This is a favourite place industry, although the number of fishing boats using the port has for New Zealand fur seals. declined from the 38 in 1898. Some fishers are now going in for Now go up the steps, and, at the top of the hill, enjoy the recreational fishing and tourism. panoramic views from: The Lookout of the Early Whalers some of whose names are recorded on plaques on their memorial. Take the road down and turn right into Haverford Street to reach your starting place. You can take the track in the other direction and: 2 Walk to the Moeraki Boulders Beach MOERAKI BOULDERS and enjoy the very pleasant coastal scenery. On your left you will Sightseeing pass the Kotahitanga Church (1862), appealing in its simplicity. This early Maori church was moved from its kaik (village) site on Signposted off State Highway 1., 38 kms south of Oamaru. the hill to its present, more accessible spot. More than 50 large, round boulders are scattered along the beach like a giant's petanque set. Wave action didn't form them; carbonate of lime, silica, alumina and peroxide of iron have - MOERAKI over millions of years - gradually solidified around a small centre Ecotour of lime crystals. In the bank at the edge of the beach you can see boulders which are being exposed as the sea washes away the Katiki Point and Lighthouse earth around them. From the village, drive up the hill, turn right into Tenby Street Maori folklore has a much more romantic explanation for the and left into Lighthouse Road. The road is mostly unsealed for almost perfectly round boulders. They were once food baskets 3.5 kilometres. and the angular rocks on the beach were kumara (sweet potatoes). The food baskets were washed ashore when the Hawaiiki ancestral canoe, Araiteura, was wrecked on a voyage south Moeraki Point Lighthouse searching for pounamu (greenstone). The 8.5 metres high wooden tower was built to warn sailors of the dangerous reefs below. The automatic light is no longer tended by a keeper. Janice Jones, who lives in the former lighthouse keeper's house, instead tends penguins in her 'hospital'. Katiki Point Penguin Colony Here you can enjoy free viewing of the rare hoiho (yellow-eyed) penguin. Walk down the track to the hide and watch the penguins come ashore in the late afternoon. Binoculars are useful as you are not permitted to get close to the birds. 3.