Dunedin To Oamaru Weekend Roadie

Saturday mornings in Dunedin, aside from sleep-ins and sports, are religiously reserved for the Otago Farmers Market, rain, shine or snow. Located outside the iconic Dunedin Railway Station, it’s the perfect meeting point of Dunedin’s esteemed Edwardian architecture and the wider Otago region’s more stripped-back talking point: the land. With fresh produce from all over Otago, as well as a mouth-watering range of food trucks, international cuisine and wines, it’s enough to make even the toughest food critic weak at the knees. The Tart Tin is the quaint sweets-filled caravan that makes the locals go crazy, and if you haven’t quite had enough bacon-in-bread for one morning you can find your next fix at the famous Bacon Buttie Station.

How does a homely meal for lunch in a cute roadside cottage sound? Housed in a renovated (but still charming) historic building, Vanessa’s Cottage Cafe is the perfect reason for travellers to break their drive in the sweet but sleepy hamlet of Hampden. Once a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ kind of spot, Hampden now has visitors planning their journey between Dunedin and Waitaki/Canterbury around having lunch at Vanessa’s. Their handmade pies have somewhat of a reputation in these parts… Surely you don’t need much more convincing than that.

Nab a battery boost after lunch at the Lincoln Street parking in Hampden. It’s about 35 km to Oamaru, so about twenty minutes of charging will be more than enough. Can we get a hell yeah for small-town New Zealand supporting electric vehicle roadies!

Take a time portal to a period of medieval gothic architecture, industrialisation and ridiculous clothing in Oamaru’s Victorian Precinct, which is a little bubble of preserved history. Some of New Zealand’s best Victorian streets are here, complete with galleries, arts and crafts stores, cafés and restaurants, museums and a whole lot of character. You can dress up in period costumes for portraits at The Photo Shoppe Studio, or hop on the Oamaru Steam and Rail train for a vintage trip to the seaside. History doesn’t have to be all books and stiff documentaries!

Towns like Oamaru often get a rep for having few and far between exciting dining options, but Cucina is here to change the game. Blending their South American, Italian and Spanish nationalities and heritage, owners Yanina & Pablo Tacchini have created something a bit special for Oamaru gourmands, as well as lovers of an aesthetically-pleasing dining situation. The campanelle with burnt pumpkin sage and smoked goat’s curd is our pick, (how could it not be?) accompanied by a well-matched wine. Or, for (a very reasonable) $60, ‘trust the chef’ and get a unique experience of Cucina’s mastery with a four-course sharing selection.

The Oamaru TOP 10 Holiday Park offers everything you need for a one-night stopover, whether you are sleeping in your plugged-in car (or van, if that’s how you roll), or want something a little more homely. From powered sites to deluxe cabins, you’ll be able to find exactly the level of comfort you need. There are two commando plugs available to use, so whatever accommodation you choose, your EV will be set for your next day of travelling. Sitting just a bridge away from the Oamaru Public Gardens, the Oamaru TOP 10 Holiday Park gives you the perfect setting to recharge your own energy too.

Get a burst of fresh air in the morning with this short walk around the side of Cape Wanbrow, which, if you’re lucky, will treat you to another sighting of our fine feathered penguin friends. Rather than the blue penguins that nest at the colony, the birds that call Cape Wanbrow home are of the yellow-eyed variety, or hoiho as they are commonly known, but are just as cute. These wee dudes usually cross the beach before 9am, so you’ll have to be up and at ‘em sharp to be in with a chance to see any action. But even if you don’t time it well, the walk is worth your time just in itself, because there’s nothing better than a cliff-top track with views of the coastal sunrise to start your day.

All this time spent in Oamaru and you still haven’t had a steampunk encounter? Don’t worry, that’s about to change, starting with a slice of steampunk with the best view in town, The Galley. With ironclad design and all the references to inventive steam-powered machinery the trend is known for, surrounded by a picture-perfect harbourside panorama, The Galley is not your usual morning coffee spot. Grab a fresh scone and your caffeinated elixir, and enjoy the peace of the Oamaru coast. Is it too early for fish and chips?

Back on the road towards Dunedin, make sure to stop off at your friendly fast charging station in Hampden to give you some extra juice for your journey home. It’s a decent slog back so you definitely won’t regret giving your EV a boost.

If everything else in your road trip falls apart, the one thing you can’t leave the Waitaki District, actually make that the entire South Island, without experiencing is eating at Fleur’s Place. The heavyweight champion of seafood in these parts, Fleur’s Place has gained celebrity status both locally and internationally, often heralded as being at the forefront of New Zealand cuisine. Book well in advance (and we mean it - Fleur serves up to 200 people on a good day) so you can waltz to your table without a single worry, and sit down for a beautifully drawn out gastronomic experience. Gathering the catch of local fishermen straight from their boats (which land at the jetty outside the restaurant), you’d be hard pressed to find anything fresher than Fleur’s food, unless you hop on a boat and catch it yourself.

To allow yourself to digest a little before getting back in the car, spend a bit of time exploring the quaint fishing village of Moeraki, where the sleepy charm is often overshadowed by aforementioned Fleur’s Place and Moeraki Boulders. Once an early European whaling station, Moeraki is now a peaceful holiday town with a close-knit community of permanent residents, saved from the crowds by its isolation off State Highway One. Picture-perfect (not to mention selfie-perfect!) with its historic cottages and quiet streets, as well as the sheltered bay filled with colourful fishing boats, Moeraki is one to pull on the heart-strings for sure.

Through the mist of the Otago Harbour peeks a suburb worth making a detour for, with Port Chalmers offering all sorts of portside magic. Holding an important place in New Zealand’s meat export history (the first shipment of meat left NZ from here in 1882), Port Chalmers is still Otago’s main port, but that in no way means the spot has been ruined by industry. Historic and artsy, quiet but friendly, it’s the kind of city-fringe town that would make you want to leave the rat-race for good. You wouldn’t think you were so close to Dunedin, or even the 21st century, which is part of the beauty. It’s not just in the name, Port Chalmers will charm your socks off.