Oamaru

 

On the way to Christchurch is a small town, Oamaru. It is known for its outlandish neoclassical whitestone public architecture, built between 1871 and 1883 from the wealth accumulated from quarrying, timber and farming. We stop here for lunch at a small bistro, even though we are far from our day's destination. After lunch we walk for a time along the broad Thames street. We meet a woman playing the accordian outside a storefront. She stops playing, knows we are from the US, and asks us, "I think Obama is trying to do the right thing, don't you?" So many people look to America for world leadership and are interested in our politics. She goes back to playing old songs and we put some coins in the accordian case.

Oamaru is also known for its penguin colonies. Both the small blue penguins and the yellow-eyed penguins come ashore in the evening. The blues march past a grandstand specially built for penguin viewing. We're here too early in the day to see these charming birds. Oamaru was also the home of Janet Frame, one of New Zealand's greatest writers. I'll try to find one of her books.

We drive north and by-pass Christchurch, so recently devastated by that earthquake. We are able to drive through without seeing much evidence of damage, passing on the west near the airport. On to Kaikoura.