We departed Oamaru to find ourselves taking a long drive through lush farmland, lunched in Omarama, leading to more arid land and a surprise find in the Clay Cliffs. We ended up at Glentanner Holiday Park and prepared for a day at Aoraki / Mt Cook National Park. Throughout we were charmed by New Zealand’s amazing skies.
A good day of travelling requires a good breakfast. This combination was our very favourite!
About 20 minutes north of Oamaru, we turned onto a highway heading to the centre of the island. We drove through beautiful farmlands. This field had a herd of cows, all crowded into the far left corner!
They were very intent on watching my photographic efforts!.
Then we happened on this quaint little farming town by the somewhat curious name of Kurow.
Speights is a major NZ brewery out of Greymouth. It has a big chain of hotels and bars throughout NZ and is reputed to be a place where you can consistently get good food.
We ran across this beautiful little antique shop.
As you can see from the reflection in the window, it was right in the centre of town.
Sadly, this was posted in the entranceway window. The posting is dated 13 January 2021 and states that the owner must submit an engineering report demonstrating it’s earthquake readiness by July 13 2033 or the business will not be able to re-open.
Our visit was more than 25 months after the notice was posted. It appears that the business owner just walked away. Too bad!
Buildings all over NZ have been condemned due to earthquake risks. Talk about circumstances beyond the control of a small business owner!
Road Safety…
Check the road sign. That’s a speed limit sign, unit being km/hr. Does that seem like a safe speed for an intersection where you have to make a 90 degree turn right or left?
On the bright side, the gravel path on the left is the bike lane.
Here the bike path is down the hill from the road. These bike paths aren’t found everywhere, but they are quite common. Common enough that the NZ Automobile Association has a separate book that it issues for cyclists.
How amazing to have the safety and serenity of dedicated cycling paths!
And back to our tour
Another hour from Kurow, we came to Omarama, the junction where a left turn takes you to Queenstown and a right turn sends you toward Aoraki / Mt Cook.
We couldn’t resist documenting a little more Jucy humour.
This was the best burger ever. Sweet potatoes are called kumara in NZ. These were brought with them by the Maori and the most popular type has purple flesh. These burgers included a slice of purple kumara and they were delicious!
The Oasis Café, Bar and Grill, with Speights prominently featured on the sign.
In all my research on NZ, I didn’t come across a reference to the Clay Cliffs. Leaving Omarama we passed a sign saying Clay Cliffs ahead on the left.
Grampafacts 