New Zealand Oamaru Information - What to See & Do. If you are looking for comprehensive travel information for Oamaru Information including AA Centres, General, i-SITE/Visitor Information Centre and Library, you will find it here on AA Travel.
If you’re visiting Oamaru, your first stop should be the information centre. This will enable you to pick up all the information that you need to get the most out of your trip.
i-SITES are New Zealand’s official visitor centres, and there are over 80 of them throughout the country. Aside from i-SITES, there are also information centres in most towns and even in small settlements.
The friendly staff at the information centres can help you find accommodation, plan tours and activities, and give you that local insight that makes all the difference. Most bookings can be made here for you, and you can pick up maps and brochures to help you plan your visit. These centres also sometimes have souvenirs for sale and internet access.
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.
