Oamaru & Waitaki Visitor Information Centre

19/04/2024

A reminder that Harbour Street will be closed to vehicles from tomorrow through to 28th April. Please see the attached map for disability parking options and loading zones. An ideal time to wander down Harbour Street with the family, take some photos without cars in the background and support our local businesses.
KH

23/12/2023

Meri Kirihimete! Here's some handy lists of what will (and won't) be open over the holiday season.

Please note, there may be some changes to days that owners/operators let us know, we will update the spreadsheets here as needed.

Facebook folk: with this in mind re updates, please share the link to this post rather than copying the lists here to your own page.

12/07/2022

Some fun in this wet and chilly weather!

School Holiday Special! Ride the train on Weds 13th July, all kids ride free with a paying adult. Train departs Harbourside Station at 11:00am, 11:45am and 1:00pm only. Yes, it's supposed to continue raining all week but it's nice and cozy inside our vintage 1905 restored railway carriage!

23/06/2022

The 51st Annual Gemstone Jewellery & Craft Fair is on again in Oamaru on Saturday the 9th and Sunday the 10th of July.
Always fascinating!
Bring the kids too!

19/06/2022

19/06/2022

Another lovely long weekend coming up...
Celebrating Matariki this Friday!
In Māori culture, Matariki is both the name of the Pleiades star cluster and of the celebration of its first rising in late June or early July. This marks the beginning of the new year in the Māori lunar calendar. Matariki was made an official public holiday in New Zealand in April 2022, and the first celebration is on the 24th of June.
The Oamaru & Waitaki Visitor Centre and Whitestone City will be open every day from 10am.

09/06/2022

B10 Steam Running Day this Sunday 12th June. Come and enjoy the last vintage steam train trip for awhile until we get steaming again in November! Train departs at 11:00am, 11:45am and the last trip of the day at 1:00pm. Photo shows B10 running along the clay cliffs at Oamaru Harbour in January 2019. Adults $10, children $4, pre-schoolers are free.

05/06/2022

Thank you to the lovely ladies at The Galley cafe, you are open on this glorious Queen's Birthday Monday and you have the MOST appropriate cupcakes!

05/06/2022

A wonderful weekend!
Thanks to all that helped make it happen.

Oamaru's Harbour St came alive over the long weekend, as locals and visitors to the Waitaki town embraced a new pop-up event. In the absence of the...

04/06/2022

Warming up Harbour St wonderfully!
Come on down!

03/06/2022

Movement Hub Open House
Sunday 12-3

As part of the excitement on Harbour St for the Winter Warm-up, we are opening our doors so you can come for a look, a chat and a play on some equipment!

Looking forward to seeing you😊

02/06/2022

01/06/2022

01/06/2022

30/05/2022

Harbour St Winter Warm Up - Saturday 5th of June.
Craftwork, our wonderful Belgian Beer Brewery will be up and running!

30/05/2022

Welcome back, we've missed you!

Hello! We are excited to announce we have an opening date, Friday June 3rd from 1pm. We hope to see you then!

30/05/2022

More Winter Warm Up fun in Harbour St on Queen's Birthday Weekend!

Home of Dee May !!!
We are so excited to have these talented peeps play ! It's been ages..... and we can't wait! 😁😎🥳

27/05/2022

The Oamaru Auto Collection.
Did you know that there is a wonderful Motoring Museum housed in the Woolshed building in the Victorian Precinct in Oamaru?
This fabulous collection is one of our hidden treasures - a amazing array of marvellous machines!
Vintage Cars, Tractors & Bikes and historic Motorsport Vehicles with a large collection of Memorabilia from around the World.
For more information: https://thewoolstorecomplex.co.nz/?page_id=69

23/04/2022

School holiday fun 🦋
Kid’s Cartoon Workshops right here in Harbour St, at the Victorian Precinct in Oamaru!
From the 25th to the 30th of April.

22/04/2022

Update from the team at Oamaru Steam and Rail:
They will not be operating their vintage steam train rides this Sunday but they hope to be back up and running next Wednesday.
Check out the great School Holiday Special for trains on Wednesday the 27th at 11:00am, 11:45am and 1:00pm, all Kids ride free and Adults are normally $10 at half price for $5 each.

15/04/2022

Fun for the kids around Oamaru's beautiful harbour these school holidays - join the Moa Hunt!

The Waitaki District Council wanted to make reading more fun, so they have organised a “storybook trail” around Oamaru Harbour, following the story of New Zealand author Patrick McDonald’s 'We’re Going on a Moa Hunt'.

The trail is open now and is designed to promote literacy skills, while also getting people outdoors to explore Oamaru with family and friends.

Follow the story boards around the harbour, starting at the steampunk playground and finishing at the North Otago Yacht and Power Boat Club.

14/04/2022

Our wonderful Oamaru Penguin Colony is open right through Easter. The little blue penguins are doing so well there - 182 penguins came in last night!

We hope you have a safe and happy Easter!

Don’t forget to keep our wildlife safe too, by giving them plenty of space and keeping your dogs on a leash.

If you would like to see some amazing wildlife in Oamaru, ie, little penguins 🐧 😊, we are open every night. Evening viewing begins at 6:00pm and we still have 20% off tickets!

29/03/2022

Great news about the wonderful success of our Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony. Another very successful nesting season is coming to a close, with 477 new Little Blue Penguins heading out into the ocean world.

11/03/2022

A great article about Oamaru, from late last year but a lot of helpful information about our fair town.

In a small town you'll find European-style streets, incredible food and some of our rarest penguins.

11/03/2022

Discover Dot's dream!
The famous Riverstone Castle tours are back on again.
Take your friends and family along and enjoy Dot’s fabulous castle 🏰
No pre bookings required, just arrive 10 minutes before the tour time and when you’re done you could head over to the Riverstone Kitchen restaurant for lunch or a sweet treat.

11/03/2022

Looking after our Little Blue Penguins.
Check out the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony FB page for more information.

Please help us get the word out in Oamaru, that if people find a penguin in town that they are worried about, they need to send us a message here on Facebook. We have a very small team running the Penguin Colony right now. It is not possible for us to be on call 24/7 and we are not at the centre all day every day due to the loss of visitors after Covid.

As we near the end of the breeding season, we're seeing more chicks like this little guy, popping up in strange places. This guy was at the door of Countdown this morning. He isn't quite ready to fledge yet, but must have strayed from his nest, so we'll feed him for a few days and then let him go.

Not all penguins need to be rescued, some during the night will just be making their way to/from the sea, but if people let us know we can either check it out or let people know what to do about it.

We do appreciate the concern that locals have for the penguins and thank all of those who have been in touch with us in the past!

03/03/2022

Some rather special visitors to our Oamaru Victorian Precinct over the past couple of days!

21/02/2022

A great story about our very own Vanished World.

A visit here is like exploring Aotearoa's version of Jurassic Park.