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s a good decision since we had a particularly lovely dawn posted in photography photos tourism travel tagged boats clouds dawn comments off on dawn over oamaru harbour the night sky in north otago posted on 29 august 2017 by jlg the milky way over moeraki so many visitors to oamaru and the surrounding area comment on how clear the night sky is here and how there are so many more stars here than back home i m not sure that there really are any more stars in new zealand than anywhere else but the fact that we have a lot less light pollution than other places certainly makes it seem like there are in 2012 the nearby town of lake tekapo became a unesco registered dark sky preserve in recognition of all that they do to protect the night sky from being affected by streetlights and other man made phenomena and in 2017 oamaru also announced that it will be replacing its existing streetlights with leds that will also further reduce any light pollution that degrades stargazing in the area the magellanic clouds and milky way wherever you go in north otago if the sky is clear at night and the moon is cooperating best viewing is when the moon is new or as close to new as possible you are virtually assured a great chance to see the stars in all their glory among the things you can see in the southern hemisphere that you cannot see in the north are of course the southern cross the magellanic clouds two galaxies beyond our own that appear as small clouds of stars canopus the second brightest star in the night sky though visible in some parts of the northern hemisphere it is more readily visible in the southern and the constellation centaurus home of the closest star to earth other than the sun alpha centauri the milky way if you are interested in capturing images of the night sky there are numerous good spots to do so in our area including moeraki the beaches and the elephant rocks all of which offer dark skies and foreground interest to aid in creating a pleasing composition pen y bryn lodge is even offering a special package for people interested in exploring the southern night sky with a two night stay in oamaru complete with a view of the skies through their telescope and a primer in astrophotography and a night at skyscape in twizel in the high country where there is virtually no light pollution at all and the sky is wide open above you for more information visit their website by clicking here posted in new zealand photography photos tourism travel tagged astronomy astrophotography milky way space stargazing stars telescope leave a comment another new oamaru attraction opens posted on 1 june 2017 by jlg it seems that the list of things to do in oamaru is getting longer and longer by the minute today just in time for the annual oamaru fire steam festival that starts on friday 2 june and the nz steampunk festival that takes place all weekend a new attraction has opened in a small space on tyne street in the historic precinct called dr kano s fantastic flight it is the brainchild of don patterson a renowned oamaru based artist who is also responsible for the restoration of the oamaru railway station and its prehistoric world exhibits but whereas the prehistoric world takes a look into the distant past it could be argued that dr kano s fantastic flight is a glimpse instead into the future it would be a shame to reveal too much of what to expect from a visit here so suffice it to say that the experience lasts around 15 minutes and is unlike anything else that i have seen in oamaru or beyond and it s a relatively inexpensive 15 per adult posted in activities general new zealand science fiction scifi steampunk tourism travel tagged oculus_rift virtual reality vr leave a comment fire and canapés awaiting our guests posted on 29 may 2017 by jlg from instagram http ift tt 2s5ah2e gigatownoam posted in photos leave a comment whitestone city opens in oamaru posted on 23 may 2017 by jlg after many many months of work oamaru s newest visitor attraction whitestone city has officially opened created jointly by tourism waitaki and the oamaru whitestone civic trust with funding supported by the new zealand ministry for business innovation and enterprise mbie whitestone city offers visitors a chance to experience something of what life was like for newly landed migrants arriving in oamaru in the late 19th century guests enter the attraction from the seaside entrance of a restored warehouse amid the sounds of the surf recreating what it would have sounded like had you been arriving off of a ship just in from europe you cross through a street lined with period shops including a recreation of an 1880s chemist s shop barber and newspaper office together with an architect s office ostensibly that of forrester lemon responsible for building much of oamaru complete with a model of the criterion hotel that has been projection mapped with a video loop that recreates the drawing building and a day in the life of one of oamaru s most iconic buildings this alone is worth the price of admission in my opinion further along the street opens up into a large play area in the centre of which is a carousel with four penny farthing bicycles that you can ride included in price of admission together with a wide assortment of victorian era games croquet and other entertainments next is a small theaterette with a video demonstrating the process of a lady getting dressed in the complicated clothing of the period along with sample outfits from throughout the victorian era the walls in this area are also decorated with copies of portraits of early residents of oamaru all donated by the oamaru settler s hall further on there is a reconstructed saloon of the period complete with a sign warning patrons to be on the lookout for loose women with videos playing about the history of oamaru and its place in the new zealand of the day and finally a period lounge with table set up with victorian porcelain and other period furnishings whitestone city is open daily from 9 30am until at least one hour before the oamaru blue penguin colony evening viewing commences posted in activities architecture art heritage history new zealand tourism travel leave a comment new book on oamaru and the waitaki released posted on 28 april 2017 by jlg oamaru and the waitaki district are easily among the most beautiful parts of new zealand in our humble opinion yet there has not been a corresponding volume of books on the area available for visitors or locals to purchase fortunately for them the owners of pen y bryn lodge have taken it upon themselves to address the situation and have released a 100 page volume to fill this gap the book which they have titled simply oamaru and the waitaki home to historic pen y bryn lodge is full of stunning photography that they mostly shot themselves together with a short history of the district and descriptions of the area s distinctive features at the rear of the book they provide a brief history of pen y bryn itself together with a photographic tour of several of the estate s rooms all culminating with a few recipes that their guests have asked them to share copies of the book are available for sale for 40 at pen y bryn as well as at several businesses in oamaru including oamaru paper plus steam café presence on harbour art on tyne and the oamaru i site and an electronic version is available for purchase through the apple ibooks store as well posted in activities architecture art beer coffee general heritage history new zealand photography photos steampunk tourism travel tagged books mementos self publishing 3 comments the town bike opens for business posted on 26 march 2017 by jlg oamaru has in recent years become a centre for cyclists many of whom have arrived in town after completing the alps 2 ocean cycle trail oamaru is a hilly town and biking here poses a certain challenge but that challenge is now reduced a bit thanks to a new business that has opened in thames street the town bike offers e bikes for hire and if you re not familiar with e bikes they look much like regular bicycles with the addition of an electric system that can assist you when pedalling up hill or going long distances with a range of around 120km depending on how much you depend on the electric assist and how many hills you ascend you can easily use one of these bikes to make your way from oamaru to points as far away as elephant rocks and the moeraki boulders in a clever move the shop which is adjacent to martyn s cycle shop even offers a deal if you decide to purchase one of these bicycles for yourself bring your receipt to martyn s and they ll deduct the value of your bike hire from the cost of a new bicycle to take home the town bike s eight bicycles are named for historic ladies of the evening who plied their trade in oamaru back when the town had more brothels than anywhere in the southern hemisphere a clever nod to oamaru s boisterous past bike hire rates are available for rides up to two hours up to four hours or up to eight hours and they offer several suggested spots to visit no matter how long you plan to use them up to two hours whitestone cheese steampunk hq blue penguin colony oamaru lookout point bushy beach up to four hours oamaru lookout point bushy beach kakanui beach moeraki boulders up to eight hours elephant rocks alps 2 ocean duntroon maori rock drawings kurow estate winery the town bike is open daily from 10am to 6pm at 47 thames street posted in activities general new zealand photography tourism travel tagged nzmustdo thetownmike bicycling cycling thetownbike waitaki leave a comment so much is new in oamaru posted on 25 march 2017 by jlg it has been ages since my last post for which i can only offer humble apologies but there has been a lot going on in what has been for us at least the busiest tourist season in years so what s new let s see the fifth annual harbour street jazz and blues festival took place last weekend and was a smash by all accounts there were dozens of performances all over the historic part of town culminating in a roaring cabaret night at the loan merc on sunday evening looks like next year s sixth annual event will be bigger still a new shop has opened in thames street offering e bikes bicycles with an electric motor for hire giving people an excellent means of exploring the beautiful area of oamaru at a slower pace and without straining too much to get up our numerous hills interesting name too the main street of the oamaru victorian precinct harbour street is now pedestrian only on weekends as part of a temporary experiment to see how such a closure to vehicles affects visitors businesses on the street and the general mood of harbour street council will look into the impact of the closure after the trial period and make a determination whether to continue it locals took the opportunity of the first day of the closure to have a mid street picnic a new bicycle park has opened in the harbour area in a previously unusable tract of land between the loan and mercantile building and the sea here kids can learn the skills of riding a bicycle in an environment that replicates actual roads with traffic signs roundabouts and other road features the station restaurant has changed hands and is now known as station wok serving up surprisingly authentic chinese dishes this is the first restaurant in oamaru to offer cuisine reminiscent of what you can find in china and was an immediate sensation to the town s many chinese visitors and also to the discerning locals who were looking for something different and happily for us they are open every day of the week posted in activities art food general heritage history new zealand photography tourism travel tagged blues festivals jazz music waitaki 1 comment first annual great north otago potato race posted on 15 october 2016 by jlg on 8 october the waitaki tourism association held the first annual great north otago potato race a fun family friendly event that celebrates one of the area s most iconic agricultural products the humble potato a total of four races were held one for the under 12s another for adults a third for people who wished to bring their own potato and a fourth for businesses a number of cash prizes were awarded and the business winner was awarded 500 to be donated to the local food bank the morning turned out to be tremendous fun and several lessons were learned for next year s event including the need to find a steeper street look forward to the 2017 event which will be bigger better and spudlier for sure more information on the event can be read on the otago daily times site here posted in activities food general new zealand tourism travel tagged jersey benne potato quirky leave a comment oamaru s pen y bryn lodge on tv posted on 14 september 2016 by jlg the popular hour long kiwi living programme hosted by miriama kamo featured oamaru s luxury lodge pen y bryn on last night s episode the show airs on tv one each tuesday at 7 30pm and showcases people places and foods from around new zealand in the segment with pen y bryn miriama visited with james and james the lodge s owners exploring the historic mansion and learning a bit about what prompted two urbanites from far away in the united states to relocate to oamaru the episode is viewable in new zealand on kiwi living s on demand service by clicking here or if you are reading this from outside of new zealand you can click here and download a copy of the segment to watch on your computer posted in architecture food general heritage history new zealand tourism travel tagged americans in new zealand immigrants us expatriates 1 comment older posts accommodation nz luxury lodge pen y bryn lodge attractions craftwork brewery headfirst oamaru new zealand whisky company north otago aero club and tours oamaru adventures oamaru blue penguin colony oamaru farmers market oamaru i site oamaru opera house oamaru steam and rail society ostler wines pasquale viticultura q wine river t estate wine scott s brewery steampunk hq steampunk nz vanished world trail vertical ventures victorian oamaru waitaki braids waitaki tourism association whitestone cheese dining fat sally s pub fleur s place midori japanese sushi bar portside riverstone kitchen steam café tees street café the station news oamaru mail subscribe to blog via email enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email email address subscribe join 1 110 other subscribers search for recent posts dawn over oamaru harbour the night sky in north otago another new oamaru attraction opens fire and canapés awaiting our guests whitestone city opens in oamaru archives april 2018 august 2017 june 2017 may 2017 april 2017 march 2017 october 2016 september 2016 august 2016 december 2015 october 2015 december 2014 november 2014 october 2014 september 2014 august 2014 july 2014 june 2014 march 2014 february 2014 december 2013 november 2013 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