Hey, everyone! The big weekend was planned weeks ago and while it was slow to arrive initially, the last week flew by. Before I knew it, I was driving three and a half hours with Goldie to get to the east coast of the South Island. A solo weekend in Oamaru ended up being exactly what I needed.

Shag Point

I took a slightly longer route to get to Oamaru because I wanted to try to avoid Lindi’s Pass, which can potentially be a treacherous route in the winter time. As we are entering winter season, I decided a fifteen minute delay was suitable, especially considering it was raining as I drove out of Queenstown.

The detour ended up being fine. I got to see lots of farmland, tiny towns, and small mountains on my way to Oamaru.

The first stop of the day was set to be Shag Point. From what I remembered, Shag Point was supposed to be an area with a huge conglomeration of shag birds. And… I misremembered that. What was there instead were gorgeous ocean views and SEALS! Where along the coastline of Aotearoa New Zealand can one go without seeing a seal? I am not sure. Every time I am near the ocean, I tend to see them.

I was also really pleased with the temperature and sunshine. It was warm enough that I walking without a sweater. The sunshine felt so wonderful. It has been pretty chilly and cloudy in Queenstown. Oh, and to be near the OCEAN! MY LOVE!

I spent time watching the seals sleep, hop around, and fight with one another. Buncha meanies.

I walked along to a different viewpoint and on the way, I spotted a tiny rodent-looking critter cross the road. I wasn’t able to snap a picture in time but I’m pretty certain it was a baby stoat. While generally I tend to be fascinated by most animals, I was a little irked to see this guy. If you’ll remember, stoats wreak havoc on Aotearoa’s bird population. Most notably kiwi. I wasn’t all too pleased to see the baby stoat.

After snapping some more seal pictures, I hit the road again. It was nice to stretch out my legs after three hours of driving, but the rest of the ride was much easier. It was only another forty minutes from Shag Point to Oamaru, with a couple of pit stops along the way to break up the driving time.

Moeraki Boulders

I had briefly heard of Moeraki Boulders before. Essentially, they are spherically shaped -you guessed it – boulders. They run along Moeraki Beach. As I got out of my car, I was nearly blown away. Not by the boulders, but by the WIND! As I walked along the beach, sand was whipping at my face. At one point, I walked backwards for a few seconds to avoid it haha.

I don’t typically look at pictures of attractions/places before going to them because I like to be surprised. In my head, I imagined there were a lot more boulders so I think I was a little disappointed in that regard… but it meant the ones there were quite special.

Some were lodged in the sand, nearly halfway covered. There was one perfect half-sphere, lodged into the side of the earth. Who knew boulders could be so beautiful? I pressed my hand to it, trying to absorb a little bit of nature’s energy. I do that sometimes haha. I’ll press my palm to trees or the water or, in this case, strange, spherical boulders growing out of the earth.

Time was moving along and I wanted to get to my next stop around 3pm. Katiki Point Lighthouse.

Katiki Point Lighthouse

The reason I wanted to get to the lighthouse (which I never did end up taking a picture of) is because it was supposedly a great spot for viewing yellow-eyed penguins, allegedly one of the rarest penguins in the world. SIGN ME UP! The best time to go is the two hours leading up to dusk, which meant 3pm.

To get to the lighthouse, I had to take a road that turned into gravel for the last five minutes. If you remember my Green Lake Hut extravaganza, you’ll understand why Goldie and I aren’t particularly keen on gravel roads haha. It ended up being fine, though. Once parked, I realized the wind had only gotten worse. The cars next to me were slightly rocking back and forth. I wondered if by the time I got back, Goldie would have fallen over haha.

I walked along to The Neck, which was a peninsula with cliff faces on either side. Seals dotted the area and were even on top of the neck. I had to give them a wide berth as seals don’t like to feel threatened.

Luckily, they were resting and couldn’t be bothered by my presence. There were some seal pups hanging around too and they are just the absolute cutest!

And yet, no penguins. I walked back and forth along the neck a couple of times. And then… what is that white thing, far off in the distance, up in the bush?

Pulling out my camera, I was able to confirm it was in fact a YELLOW-EYED PENGUIN! Very far away haha. Still, I was really excited I got to see one.

A while later, a woman and her mom came by and I pointed out the penguin to them. They both had really incredible camera lenses – one day, I will have to splurge on one. They’re so necessary for wildlife photography and yet… they’re SO expensive. The mom had been to the spot many times and showed me some really cool pictures of penguins she had taken in the past. Wow. The mom’s name was Fiona, the daughter was… Mella? Bella? Nella? Ella? I can’t remember. We ended up having a long conversation about America, New Zealand, penguins, wildlife, auroras, traveling. She lives in Christchurch. I asked for her Instagram but unfortunately, I must have gotten her first name wrong because I can’t find her anywhere lol. I suppose it was meant to be one of those fleeting connections.

Anyway. Fiona explained that at this time of year, the yellow-eyed penguins start coming in just after 4pm. And now it was just after 4pm! Now and again, another penguin would pop up in the bush, waiting for its partner to come home from a day at sea. I couldn’t believe how high up they climb to get to their nests. It is quite the hike.

The penguins in the bush would call out for their partners, and the partners would answer. So cute. So noisy!

There was only one penguin that came in from the beach near us but we hadn’t spotted it until it was just about to turn around a corner. Damn!

And then, suddenly, just on the next ridge over, there was a penguin.

It was exciting because it was so much closer than the others had been. I moved to a better vantage point and snapped some pictures of it.

At one point, a seal got too close and the penguin flipped out haha. It scared the seal off.

I was happy to see the penguin from a much closer perspective – it was just past the fence, maybe twenty feet away. Not CLOSE… but there were fences up so people wouldn’t get close. Noted.

I had asked Fiona, who had a wealth of penguin knowledge, if seals eat penguins. I thought they did. She told me it’s really just leopard seals, of which there were none here at the moment. Interesting.

Before leaving, we noticed there was a cat up on the hill near the penguins.

With the sky getting darker and a bit of a drive ahead of me still, I decided to hit the road. Mella/Bella/Ella and I walked up to the parking lot and said our goodbyes. At the time, I thought we would connect on social media but alas. I wish her the best! It would have been cool to meet up in Christchurch one day.

After a thirty minute drive, I arrived safely in Oamaru. Ever since my popped-wheel experience with Goldie, I’ve been a little nervous when driving but after this trip I feel so much better about it.

Little Blue Penguins in Oamaru

While driving into town, I noticed something a little strange. A lot of people walking around were dressed up in… steampunk outfits? As I checked into my hostel, there was even a guest dressed up. I quickly learned the weekend I chose to come to Oamaru was the weekend of the Steampunk Festival. How cool is that?!

After settling in, I decided to go for a walk along the waterfront. I knew that within walking distance, there was a place where people could pay $50 to watch blue penguins come in for the night. While I was considering doing that the following night, I still had plenty of nighttime left and figured – hey, maybe if I walk along the waterfront, I’ll just see some without having to pay.

It wasn’t long before I saw a bird on the grass. “Is that a..? No…” but it was. It waddled along the grass and ended up crossing the road to get to its nest. They really are tiny.

A little further along, there was another penguin at the edge of what seemed to be a tool shed. He was crying out very loudly, waving his wings in the air. There were another two penguins just around the corner of the toolshed. At one point, they started banging which was certainly unexpected lol.

I stayed out for maybe two hours watching the penguins. I couldn’t believe how close they were. I’ve seen blue penguins a number of times but never so close and never where I could see their details. Because of how close the penguins were to the streetlamps, I could pick up a lot of their features.

It had been a long day, so I ended up trying to go to sleep around eleven. My two hostel mates had other plans in mind. One talked in his sleep and the other was like… blowing raspberries??? Eventually, I fell asleep.

Steampunk HQ

With Steampunk Festival going on, I wanted to do something steampunk-y. People were dressed up all over town, after all. In the morning and early afternoon, I walked around town, checking out Steampunk-themed antique stores, bike shops, etc. There was so much bizarre stuff.

There was even a competition for Steampunk-y… briefcases? The assignment was a little unclear.

The lamps in the middle picture are actually made out of old bike wheels and gear chains!

Ultimately, I decided going to the Steampunk HQ (museum) was the best way to honor Steampunk-ness. Before doing so, I talked to my brother on the phone for a bit. Funnily enough, while on the phone with my brother, I ended up spotting a work friend and his family who were also in Oamaru for the weekend. They ended up giving me their ticket so I didn’t have to pay haha. Thanks, Marty!

There were so many neat things in the museum but my favorite was The Portal. And I’m really glad I got to enter it alone, as only six people can enter at a time. Upon entering, it’s already a beautiful, photographic scene. And then music starts playing and the lights start changing color. It gets pretty trippy!

I walked around the museum some more but it only really took me about 30min to get through it.

Bushey Beach

I had two main items on my itinerary for the day. The first was Bushey Beach. The reason for Bushey Beach was – once again, yellow-eyed penguins. Along the way, I stopped at the Oamaru Lookout Point and was able to see what I ORIGINALLY thought was what I was to be seeing at Shag Point. The wharf, covered by shags!!! So many of them.

I walked about 30min from the lookout point to Bushey Beach. Along the way, I managed to get a mediocre picture of a falcon. ONE OF THESE DAYS, I’LL GET A GOOD ONE.

While the penguins ended up being even further away than Katiki Point, I did get the bonus of seeing them actually come out from the sea. So cool! They waddled across the beach and then went into bush, hopping over rocks along the way. I think I saw maybe six there?

And later, a pretty sunset as I walked back to town.

Trotter’s Gorge Reserve

After Bushey Beach and dinner, I drove 30min to Trotter’s Gorge Reserve, in the hopes of seeing some glow worms. The moon wasn’t out and it was extremely dark outside. The second I stepped out of my van, I heard a very eerie noise coming from the bush. I hurried to turn my flashlight on since it seemed to be getting closer. And yet, I know that there aren’t any animals in Aotearoa New Zealand that can kill me haha. I don’t know what I was worried about. I do wonder what that noise was, though?

I walked along the track, searching for glow worms. I would walk a little, turn off my head torch, look around in the total darkness. It was actually super spooky. I was getting the heebie jeebies a little bit haha. I didn’t want to hike super far, so I decided to walk the 30min to the “caves” and that was it. From there, the track started a steep incline and it didn’t seem safe at night. I was feeling slightly let down because there weren’t any glow worms along the way. I thought I had read that there were glow worms all along the reserve!

On my way back, I would turn my light off a little more frequently and then, all of a sudden… there they are! Not nearly as many as Nichols Creek, but still. If someone had never seen glow worms before, they probably would have been tickled by the blue stars spotted along the area.

Mission complete!

After Trotters Gorge, I drove back into town and watched the blue penguins for a while.
There was one guy who was sitting just under a streetlamp. Perfect for observing their behavior and details! I must have watched him for close to an hour, He didn’t end up doing anything that interesting haha but it was really cool to watch him.

As I was walking back into town, I spotted two more penguins that were next to some small paddleboats. While I was feeling cold, I started to get second thoughts… maybe I should have tried to bring my nice camera with me to take pictures of the penguins under the lights???

I didn’t bring it originally because I can’t use flash on penguins and it’s too dark to get decent pictures. But I started thinking maybe with the streetlamps it might be enough light. Spoiler: it wasn’t.

I did go to grab my camera but it ended up being a lesson in greed. I was meant to observe the penguins and take videos and the occasional picture from a distance. Crappy photos, but alas. My camera doesn’t really have a Silent Mode and so it spooked the penguins away almost immediately. And then I felt bad lol. I’M SORRY, PENGUINS! I love you!! I had witnessed someone using flash on some penguins the night before. I guess humans just suck sometimes.

I said goodbye to my penguin friends and went back to the hostel around midnight. I had a long drive home ahead of me the following day.

Elephant Rocks

In the morning, I woke up and after a quick stop at the grocery store, I hit the road. First and main stop of the day: Elephant Rocks. As a lover of elephants, how could I possibly not? They were only 30min from town. I thought they would look a little more elephant-y but I suppose they got the job done. One tidbit I found interesting was that the whole area used to be underwater many moons ago. Neat! It’s sometimes hard to imagine that stuff.

Can you see the elephants?

Lindi’s Pass

I was feeling slightly nervy because I had decided to take the Lindi’s Pass route home. When talking to my work friend, he had taken Lindi’s Pass to Oamaru and it felt completely safe. Since it was a beautiful day, I decided to do the same. Plus, I wanted to see some new views!

I am super glad I did. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day to drive through Lindi’s Pass. The views were gorgeous, the sky was blue and the sun was shining. And the roads were safe and not slippery in the slightest. Yahoo!

An hour and a half later, I was back in Queenstown safely.

What. A. TRIP! I think this may have been one of my favorite weekend trips in Aotearoa to date. Although, they are all so different and so wonderful in their own ways.

Miscellaneous

Some random things. Every year in Aotearoa, your car needs what’s called a WoF or a Warrant of Fitness. Mine is coming up… TOMORROW. I hope it passes lol.

Since I’ve been working in the hostel for the past week, I noticed that my name is near the top of the list for people who have been here the longest. I think out of 58 people, I am in the top… 13? Crazy! So much turnaround here.

I have also abused my powers for evil and jokingly wrote Jasper a “strike”. He got a kick out of it.

My coworker Josh has officially left. Unfortunately, I had to jet to the hostel on his last day and he was nowhere to be found as I was leaving. I wrote him a note instead. I think we will link up whenever I manage to get to Christchurch.

Nittsy is back!!! And she gave me some chocolate from Chile. I definitely ate them all within like five minutes haha.

Penguins are… birds. Well, obviously. But I always viewed them as quite different from birds. When observing the li’l blue penguins, I realized they really are SUCH birds haha. I also wanted to note that it is hard not to compare any penguin experiences to the one I had in South Africa. There were so, so many penguins there during the daytime. What a cool experience that was. Not to diminish any other penguin experience, but it is nice to be able to observe and take pictures during the daytime!

Art of the Week

I drew this one for my friend Carly. She was looking for a new tattoo idea. I don’t really want to draw people tattoos anymore though because I always feel like I do a bad job lol. I would rather people just get a tattoo of something I’ve already done. Too much pressure otherwise!!!

And also, Vale with a sweater with my kiwi design! Available on RedBubble.

Also… I bought a new sketchpad and some new markers today! YAHOO!

Reflections

I really loved Oamaru. I would definitely recommend it to people. I think this trip really reminded me of just how much I love traveling around. In the car, singing along to music, stopping at various attraction sites, watching wildlife, etc. I just love it. While I am enjoying myself in Queenstown and going on day trips and the occasional weekend trip when I can, I am looking forward to the day when I’m not working anymore and just traveling around full time for a year. THE DREAM! Coming soon.

I did want to mention something that maybe is a little bit of a bummer but I do want to try to be transparent in these chronicles.

On Friday night, I was going to go dancing with some friends for a little while before I had to go to bed around twelve (before driving to Oamaru). Around 10.30pm, Jasper and I went over by them and they were still pre-gaming, hanging out in their room. They didn’t seem to want to go anywhere any time soon. They were playing drinking games which is totally fine but it wasn’t really my scene and I just wanted to go out dancing. It got closer to 11 and they didn’t seem to be moving any time soon. I suddenly felt very out of place and decided that I didn’t want to go dancing and wanted to go for a walk instead.

I started to think about how I have always been a little out of place. Always an “Outsider.” It could be for many reasons. In some groups, maybe it’s because I’m older, so I can’t relate as much. Or I’m sober when everyone else drinks or does drugs. Or I’m gay in a group of straight people. Or when attempting to date gay people, I’m more alternative and so it makes it harder to find a good match. In almost any situation, I find that I don’t feel a Part Of – I am the outsider. And normally that’s fine. But the other night I was feeling strange about it – mostly because I don’t understand the “why”. I suppose it is meant to be that way for some reason. For what reason, I don’t know.

(P.S. This is simply an observation. While it is an uncomfortable feeling at times, I am fine and I am used to it. I think maybe my emotions are slightly heightened/skewed with the dark nights and approaching winter.)

And on a light-er note, I was thinking about something else recently, too. So many places I’ve been, I have been followed by “light.” In Perth, I was living in the City of Lights. In Tasmania and now Queenstown, I’ve been lucky enough to see the southern lights numerous times. This weekend in Queenstown, there was an annual event called LUMA – a light festival (I’ll make a post about that next week). Where there is darkness, there is always light.

So, what’s next?

Well, my WoF is tomorrow. And other than that, I’m not sure. I have another three day weekend at the end of the month. I was flirting with the idea of flying to Christchurch that Thursday night and returning Sunday night but I haven’t decided yet. That is still a while away. Jasper had mentioned the idea of going to Glenorchy soon. We will see! Stay tuned.

Until then – sending you all my love. xx