Long Way Round

The long way from Waimate to Oamaru is to follow the Waitaki River up to Kurow and back down to State Highway 1. And that is the way we went. I thought we would be in sight of the river most of the way but it wasn’t until we crossed over at Kurow that we got a good look. It was flowing strongly which was a surprise as we haven’t had much rain. Maybe it was melting snow. There were several jet boats pulled up on the shore by the bridge and we decided to go down have a look and stop for lunch under the shady willow trees..

Jet boats on the Waitaki River

Kurow, of course  is Richie McCaw’s, our retired rugby union captain’s home town and you don’t have to look far to find mention of him. He features in most shop windows and they are raising money to build a stature of him. We had a good look around before heading back down the river towards the NZMCA Park at Awamoko. Only facilities here is potable water. There is a community room and loo but it is locked off.. We were first in with another two camper vans arriving later. A short drive in the morning and we were in the Oamaru A & P Showgrounds. Huge area with a loo of sorts, a washing machine and water. There is a dump also for black and grey cassettes.

14 vans here at the A & P Grounds Monday  night.

Monday afternoon we explored the old warehouse area of Oamaru. The warehouses have been leased out to some very interesting shops. Here are some pics.

Could have spent a day in here and  not seen everything.

Steampunk. Note the flames out the stack.

Otherside

I found this place fascinating. I have read some reviews that dissed this place. I just enjoyed the off the wall creativity. Different tastes.