Oamaru Food and Wine

New Zealand Oamaru Food and Wine - What to See & Do. If you are looking for comprehensive travel information for Oamaru Food and Wine including Café and Other Food and Wine, you will find it here on AA Travel.

Eating out can be one of the highlights of a holiday in Oamaru. You can expect to find wonderful examples of edible excellence throughout the country, and the high standard of food offered by cafes and restaurants can be attributed to an unlimited supply of fresh, quality ingredients. The cuisine style known as Pacific Rim is New Zealand's point of difference. Pacific Rim blends the flavours of South East Asia, the Pacific and Japan. Seafood, the traditional Maori hangi (an earth oven), fresh fruit and locally produced venison and beef are just a selection of the must-try cuisine on offer. Combine this with world-class locally made wines and you have a memorable dining experience.

Oamaru: Oamaru is the district's main centre and is renowned for its attractive townscape and gardens, intact Victorian precinct and harbour, neoclassical stone buildings, and the most accessible daily contact with penguins anywhere in the country. Oamaru has the largest collection of protected heritage buildings in New Zealand. They were designed by the finest architects of their time and crafted from the local limestone now known worldwide as Oamaru Stone. The harbour, reputed to be the only intact Victorian harbour in New Zealand, is home not only to an old curved wooden wharf and an assortment of traditional craftspeople, but hundreds of blue penguins that waddle ashore every night just after dark. The Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony, a natural nesting area for the world's smallest penguin species, has been enhanced by a dedicated team of volunteers and is now an international drawcard. Grandstand seating enables visitors to get a close look at these engaging birds every night of the year. A 30-minute walk away is another penguin colony at Bushy Beach. This is the northern-most place where the rare yellow-eyed penguin is known to nest and breed successfully. Visitors can watch them come ashore each evening.