After walking on the beach past the fascinating boulders, we return to the car park via a cliff top path. We then drive a short distance to Moeraki village to view its small church. Built in 1862, the interest for us is that the church contains some stained-glass windows crafted in Birmingham in 1891. Unfortunately, the church is locked, but we are able to get a glimpse of the windows through a hole in the frosted glass at the west end of the church.

Continuing to explore the Moeraki Peninsula, we find the Moeraki Lighthouse at Katiki Point. Driving back via the Moeraki Boulders, we find that the sea is now covering the majority of them. Rejoining Highway 1, a 40-kilometre drive brings us to the former port town of Oamaru. The town has a number of claims to fame, and we get details of two of these at the Information Office: the historic district and the penguin colonies.

Thames Street and the knot of streets around Tyne, Itchen, and Harbour Streets define Oamaru's Historic District, a dense cluster of grand civic and mercantile buildings that sets the town centre apart from any other in New Zealand. The key is Oamaru Stone (known as Whitestone), which hardens with exposure to the elements but, when freshly quarried is easily cut and worked with conventional metal hand tools.

With the aid of a map from the Information Office, we follow a route that highlights the principal buildings. We start at St Luke's Anglican Church - this has a beautiful dark-wood interior and, unusually, the First World War memorial includes a Roll of Honour listing those who served and returned.

Our walk takes us past a number of fine buildings, some neglected, but most well preserved. In contrast to all the fine buildings, Oamaru's second claim to fame - its penguins - is marked with a rather naff statue

St Luke's Anglican Church and the Harbour Board Office

The former Bank of New South Wales - now the Forrester Gallery

The War Memorial (above) and Thames Street Bridge (right)

At the end of Itchen Street are the Oamaru Gardens. We only see a small part of their manicured beauty, but this is a stunning garden dating back to 1876 and reflecting the town's former wealth. The outstanding feature is the roses - undoubtedly the best we have seen on this trip

The many excellent rose specimens include 'Whisky' (left) and 'New Year'

Tonight's accommodation is at the Thames Court Motel in Oamaru. Despite some touches of modernisation, this is an old-style motel, our room being large but having a basic appearance due to the walls being made of painted breeze block.

 

On the advice of the Information Office, we eat at Buoys, a seafood restaurant/takeaway in the town centre. Hopefully, a quick meal here will enable us to get to two penguin colonies at the best time to observe the birds arriving back on shore after their day's fishing out at sea.

However, service is slow as the few staff struggle to meet the demands of a constant stream of takeaway customers, as well as serve ourselves in the dining section. The restaurant has an extensive menu to match its size, but most of the items seem to be not available. The staff are very friendly and cope with the customers cheerfully. We have a three-course meal that includes large portions of fish and chips. A pleasant experience, particularly watching the takeaway customers come and go - one places an order, pays for it, and then disappears without his food!

Because of our prolonged meal, we do not arrive at Bushy Beach, home to the yellow-eyed penguins, until 6:20pm. There are a few other people already here, standing on a path that gives a good view of the beach below. We stay until just before 8pm, during which three penguins arrive. Each arrival is an exciting event as a penguin is first discernible in the surf, and then gradually emerges onto the beach shaking off excess water. Then, in a most memorable manner, each solitary penguin waddles across the beach, leaving a trail of footprints in the sand