Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd April 2026
Over the past couple of days, we headed further south and east, making for the coast along highway 83 then down the coast on highway 1. We stopped to explore points of interest along the way, of course.
Takiroa:
Alongside highway 83, we came across Takiroa, which is where there are some ancient Maori cave drawings:
The site is described as a rock shelter on an ancient pathway following the Waitaki River from the mountains to the sea.
Elephant Rocks:
A bit further along, just off the 83 near Duntroon, we visited the “Elephant Rocks”, so named as they are considered to resemble a herd of elephants and which are formed of limestone.
Given that a many are suffering some cavity erosion, my thoughts are that this more resembles some huge dentist’s nightmare:
Oamaru:
The small, coastal town of Oamaru is proud of its Victorian heritage. Many of the heritage buildings are Victorian and the large harbour was built to satisfy the demands of Victorian trade. The result is very interesting, with a long wharf to walk along, which has old railway lines embedded in the surface…
We are definitely on the Pacific coast here:
…and a street in which Victorian mill buildings are being repurposed and used for specialist retail outlets, including artisan crafts.
The town is also very focused on “Steam Punk” which is a fashion movement that originated in Whitby, on the North Yorkshire Coast in England. Here, they have the self-proclaimed “Steampunk HQ”, which we explored:
Moeraki Boulders:
The Moeraki Boulders are a natural phenomenon, which looks as though it shouldn’t be. They are a collection of around 50 or so, boulders, each at least a metre in diameter, all seemingly spherical (or nearly so):
They could almost be the fossilised eggs of some absolutely huge dinosaur.
That is all for now, TTFN and see-u-later.
"See-u-Later" 