Last day in Oamaru

This is a very late posting.

We had our last breakfast in the hotel, porridge for me and Continental for MrMacD - both beautifully presented.  After packing and dropping our bags at Reception, we spent the morning wandering around Oamaru some more, just enjoying the wonderful buildings and the friendly people.  At 12:30 we entered the Badger and Mackerel Café and awaited the arrival of our blip friend, Mima, whom we’d arranged to meet there.  It was so good to see Mima and we talked a lot about our impressions of Oamaru whilst enjoying our lunch.  After lunch Mima drove us up to Cape Wanbrow for a walk - such spectacular views up there and a good walk.  After saying goodbye to Mima and her beautiful dog, Bean, we walked down to the harbour and watched the water breaking right over the breakwater.  There must have been strong swells further out, because it wasn’t windy.  We decided to have a drink at the Craftwork Brewery on Harbour Street in the Victorian Quarter.  We spent a pleasant hour there then walked back to the hotel to collect our bags and walk to the bus stop to await our InterCity coach to Dunedin.  The trip was comfortable and uneventful and we were soon checking into our hotel - the Leviathan.  It’s not somewhere we’d stay for more than one night, but it’s close to the InterCity bus stop and a number of nice cafés.  We didn’t need to go out for supper as Mima had very thoughtfully and generously given us some homemade crackers and chutney and some of her delicious homemade cheese - just what we needed.

I am still way behind responding to comments and dipping into journals.  There’s just been no spare time, so I will catch up when I can.

I was obviously not thinking on Friday, as I completely forgot to take a photo of Mima and her beautiful dog, Bean.  What I did take photos of are the Anglican Church, a “buggy robot”, a decorated utility box, the inside of the Craftwork Brewery, a view looking back over Oamaru from up on Cape Wanbrow, and a view of the ocean from Cape Wanbrow showing the beautiful turquoise colour of the water closer to the coast and a very dark blue further out, with a definite line between the two.  Incredible to see.