December 6, 2024 • 7 mins
"Ōamaru is undeniably one of New Zealand’s greatest towns, with its stately and seductive good looks, stirring local wildlife, astonishing heritage treasures, and alluring artisan verve. And it’s all anchored with a striking sense of community pride and passion. Eye-catching sights and an embracing spirit are what Ōamaru is all about (don’t miss a selfie with the beloved Humpty Dumpty statue in the stupendous public gardens). Whether you’re travelling as a couple, or enjoying a happy family holiday, Ōamaru delivers ins spades with a wealth of enticing experiences."
Read Mike's full article here.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from News Talks AB.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Just before we get to travel, it is an absolutely
beautiful day in Wellington. But that's about the only good
news I have for you. From the Basin Reserve, the
black Caps are our ninety seven four seven of course,
playing England there in the second test. Jasan pinealval with us.
Short lived talk sport, but time to talk travel now.
Mike Yardley is with me. Good morning, Good.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Morning, Francisca. I'm so depressed by the crick.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah no, it's just let's talk about penguins, because penguins
just make you feel good, right, a feel good animal.
And in summertime it is a great time to enjoy
the penguin colony.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
In Amorrow it is ground zero for flipp and fun.
I have to say my first job and Radio Francisca
was in the Auamadou in the early nineties, so it's
amazing to see how that colony has really kicked on
because when I was there were only about thirty breeding pairs.
Today these hundreds of breeding pears that've been busy breeding
(01:10):
over the decades. So that nightly Penguin Parade as the
birds come home from the sea is lavish and intimate,
and the summer months is peak season for the nightly
parade because at the moment I checked, therese over three
hundred and fifty penguins coming ashore right before you each
(01:31):
night to return home. So it's a really riveting encounter
at sundown.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
They did the blue penguins, aren't they. That's the smallest
penguin in the.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
World, little blue yep carara. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
But this other wildlife there too, isn't there?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Well there is. The really cool thing about the summer
months for the penguin parade is that as they scamper
up the rocks like nervous nigels, they have to generally
navigate their way around all sorts of bellowing fur seals
who also sort of park up hit the same site.
So it's a really cool little primal interaction. The seals
do not eat the penguins, I hasten to add and
(02:06):
then just adjacent to the penguin colony for a true
dramatic spectacle. Sumter Wharf is amazing. So this was like
a Victorian era wharf where a lot of our early
frozen meat exports were shipped off to the world. Nowadays,
it's a relic, it's a deal. It's but it's been
consumed by the birds. So there are thousands of Otago
(02:28):
shags that have commandeered the wharf. They've been bitty breeding.
There's lots of chicks in their nests on the wharf.
At the moment. It's the world's biggest Otago shag colony.
It is a shagathon of epic proportions.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Whenever I think of Armora as well, I think of
the Victorian buildings there, those amazing historic buildings made out
of limestone.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah that's right. Yeah, you've got those gorgeous old stately
banks in the Opera House on Thame Street. And then
just around the corner on Harvest Street. That is the
heart of the Victorian precinct because Harbor Street is home
to New Zealand's best preserved Victorian commercial streetscape, brilliantly restored
and repurposed, so it just brims the galleries and artisans
(03:13):
in Hospit. My favorite stops, I have to say, do
involve drinking, so there.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Is bad Stroke.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
There is the Craftwork Brewery which is a Belgian inspired
the brewery, really cool spot. And then this stirring hospitality
treasure the Criterion Hotel. Now, this pub has been pouring
pints since the eighteen seventies in the same building. It's
been beautifully revitalized, really elegantly furnished, and all of its
(03:43):
storied history is sported on the walls of the bar
and the etery. The etery itself is fabulous because it's
just like a hymn to the region's produce. I would
suggest you whistle up and Alps to ocean platter, and
that way you can sample a bit of everything and
wash it down with a Criterion black Doris plum cider.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Have you done that? ELPs to Elp trail?
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Sorry, not the whole hog. No, No, I'm.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Quite interested in that anyway, And that's for another day.
Anywhere else.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I've got my trainer wheels on franchise.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Anywhere else that you recommend to eat?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
A couple of coick tips from age fans are white
Stone Cheese. The name will be very well known to
a lot of Kiwis because it's been a mainstay of
the New Zealand premium cheese scene for about four decades.
It's globally, it claims this cheese company, but I've got
twenty five varieties to nibble on and for the full
glory experience, the place to go is the white Stone
Cheese Diner in Deli. It's on Thames Street. You can
(04:43):
whizzle up a high cheese as you do. And I
have to say via double cream, Bree is unbeatable. One
other culinary rock star to add to your checklist. Riverstone,
just at the north of Owamadu. Bevan Smith is still
at the helm of that kitchen on his parents' farm.
All the produces hyper local because a lot of it
comes from the adjoining gardens. But it was really funny Francisco.
(05:06):
The locals said to me, they just go to Riverstone
to eat the cake. The cakes are so good. So
I had to and I surrendered to a slice of
gooseberry and black currant shortcake with vanilla bean ice cream. God,
it was good.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Hey, was there anything else unique about a well?
Speaker 3 (05:29):
It is steampunk headquarters. So the Victorian Precinct has got
this outfit called Steampunk HQ. It is wacky, it's whimsical,
it's eccentric. It starts with this full scale train engine
outside the front, spitting fire and billowing smoke, and then
inside you've got a museum of all sorts of weird
contraptions and bizarre machinery, lots of copper and flickering lights,
(05:53):
and out the back a whole lot of projects that
are in various stages of being steampunked. It's sort of
like a cross of industrial age, Victoriana and science fiction.
And in fact, their website's probably got the best piece
of advice steampunk must be experienced rather than explained. I
think that's very you.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
I think that is so true. I think that is
very true. Hey, Mike, just quickly good recommendations for places
to stay.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
I do love coming across a really distinctive accommodation experience
with a really good backstory. And oh my goodness, there
is this place in Alamado I've just discovered called cassanover House.
So it was built in eighteen sixty one. It's the
oldest stone house in the region and it's been impeccably restored.
They've spent about a million bucks doing it up. It
(06:42):
is just breathtaking. And the same people who renovated Casanova
also renovated the Criterion Hotel Katrina and Brenda the Fabulous Hoze.
It's like a masterclass in Luxury Heritage living. Absolutely, you've
got a book that place.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Fantastic, lovely to chat Mike, thank you so much for
all that. For more tips on summer tripping in Oamaru,
Mike's article is on the website news Talk zib dot
co dot mz forward slash Lifestyle, Forward slash travel. It
is twenty six past eleven.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to news Talk ZEDB from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from News Talks AB.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Just before we get to travel, it is an absolutely
beautiful day in Wellington. But that's about the only good
news I have for you. From the Basin Reserve, the
black Caps are our ninety seven four seven of course,
playing England there in the second test. Jasan pinealval with us.
Short lived talk sport, but time to talk travel now.
Mike Yardley is with me. Good morning, Good.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Morning, Francisca. I'm so depressed by the crick.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah no, it's just let's talk about penguins, because penguins
just make you feel good, right, a feel good animal.
And in summertime it is a great time to enjoy
the penguin colony.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
In Amorrow it is ground zero for flipp and fun.
I have to say my first job and Radio Francisca
was in the Auamadou in the early nineties, so it's
amazing to see how that colony has really kicked on
because when I was there were only about thirty breeding pairs.
Today these hundreds of breeding pears that've been busy breeding
(01:10):
over the decades. So that nightly Penguin Parade as the
birds come home from the sea is lavish and intimate,
and the summer months is peak season for the nightly
parade because at the moment I checked, therese over three
hundred and fifty penguins coming ashore right before you each
(01:31):
night to return home. So it's a really riveting encounter
at sundown.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
They did the blue penguins, aren't they. That's the smallest
penguin in the.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
World, little blue yep carara. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
But this other wildlife there too, isn't there?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Well there is. The really cool thing about the summer
months for the penguin parade is that as they scamper
up the rocks like nervous nigels, they have to generally
navigate their way around all sorts of bellowing fur seals
who also sort of park up hit the same site.
So it's a really cool little primal interaction. The seals
do not eat the penguins, I hasten to add and
(02:06):
then just adjacent to the penguin colony for a true
dramatic spectacle. Sumter Wharf is amazing. So this was like
a Victorian era wharf where a lot of our early
frozen meat exports were shipped off to the world. Nowadays,
it's a relic, it's a deal. It's but it's been
consumed by the birds. So there are thousands of Otago
(02:28):
shags that have commandeered the wharf. They've been bitty breeding.
There's lots of chicks in their nests on the wharf.
At the moment. It's the world's biggest Otago shag colony.
It is a shagathon of epic proportions.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Whenever I think of Armora as well, I think of
the Victorian buildings there, those amazing historic buildings made out
of limestone.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah that's right. Yeah, you've got those gorgeous old stately
banks in the Opera House on Thame Street. And then
just around the corner on Harvest Street. That is the
heart of the Victorian precinct because Harbor Street is home
to New Zealand's best preserved Victorian commercial streetscape, brilliantly restored
and repurposed, so it just brims the galleries and artisans
(03:13):
in Hospit. My favorite stops, I have to say, do
involve drinking, so there.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Is bad Stroke.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
There is the Craftwork Brewery which is a Belgian inspired
the brewery, really cool spot. And then this stirring hospitality
treasure the Criterion Hotel. Now, this pub has been pouring
pints since the eighteen seventies in the same building. It's
been beautifully revitalized, really elegantly furnished, and all of its
(03:43):
storied history is sported on the walls of the bar
and the etery. The etery itself is fabulous because it's
just like a hymn to the region's produce. I would
suggest you whistle up and Alps to ocean platter, and
that way you can sample a bit of everything and
wash it down with a Criterion black Doris plum cider.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Have you done that? ELPs to Elp trail?
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Sorry, not the whole hog. No, No, I'm.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Quite interested in that anyway, And that's for another day.
Anywhere else.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I've got my trainer wheels on franchise.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Anywhere else that you recommend to eat?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
A couple of coick tips from age fans are white
Stone Cheese. The name will be very well known to
a lot of Kiwis because it's been a mainstay of
the New Zealand premium cheese scene for about four decades.
It's globally, it claims this cheese company, but I've got
twenty five varieties to nibble on and for the full
glory experience, the place to go is the white Stone
Cheese Diner in Deli. It's on Thames Street. You can
(04:43):
whizzle up a high cheese as you do. And I
have to say via double cream, Bree is unbeatable. One
other culinary rock star to add to your checklist. Riverstone,
just at the north of Owamadu. Bevan Smith is still
at the helm of that kitchen on his parents' farm.
All the produces hyper local because a lot of it
comes from the adjoining gardens. But it was really funny Francisco.
(05:06):
The locals said to me, they just go to Riverstone
to eat the cake. The cakes are so good. So
I had to and I surrendered to a slice of
gooseberry and black currant shortcake with vanilla bean ice cream. God,
it was good.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Hey, was there anything else unique about a well?
Speaker 3 (05:29):
It is steampunk headquarters. So the Victorian Precinct has got
this outfit called Steampunk HQ. It is wacky, it's whimsical,
it's eccentric. It starts with this full scale train engine
outside the front, spitting fire and billowing smoke, and then
inside you've got a museum of all sorts of weird
contraptions and bizarre machinery, lots of copper and flickering lights,
(05:53):
and out the back a whole lot of projects that
are in various stages of being steampunked. It's sort of
like a cross of industrial age, Victoriana and science fiction.
And in fact, their website's probably got the best piece
of advice steampunk must be experienced rather than explained. I
think that's very you.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
I think that is so true. I think that is
very true. Hey, Mike, just quickly good recommendations for places
to stay.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
I do love coming across a really distinctive accommodation experience
with a really good backstory. And oh my goodness, there
is this place in Alamado I've just discovered called cassanover House.
So it was built in eighteen sixty one. It's the
oldest stone house in the region and it's been impeccably restored.
They've spent about a million bucks doing it up. It
(06:42):
is just breathtaking. And the same people who renovated Casanova
also renovated the Criterion Hotel Katrina and Brenda the Fabulous Hoze.
It's like a masterclass in Luxury Heritage living. Absolutely, you've
got a book that place.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Fantastic, lovely to chat Mike, thank you so much for
all that. For more tips on summer tripping in Oamaru,
Mike's article is on the website news Talk zib dot
co dot mz forward slash Lifestyle, Forward slash travel. It
is twenty six past eleven.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to news Talk ZEDB from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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