-	All photographs of Oamaru

Oamaru is the largest town in North Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located on State Highway One, 78 kilometres south of Timaru and 122 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the east coast of the South Island.

Many of Oamaru's public buildings are made of "oamaru Stone" a form of local limestone, quarried near Weston. The Harbour and Tyne Historic Precinct, with its large impressively decorated buildings, was built from the 1870's to 1890's, the Historic precinct remains today as New Zealand's most complete Victorian Streetscape. Most of the streets in Oamaru are named after English rivers. The main street is Thames Street, and Severn and Tyne Streets are also major roads in the town.

A colony of Blue Penguins is located in the town's harbour, while there is a Yellow-eyed Penguin colony just south of the town. In the past penguins have been known to live under some buildings close to the beach including the town's music club called The Penguin Club.

Totara Estate is the birthplace of NZ’s frozen meat industry, Today the four Oamaru stone farm buildings are home to hundreds of heritage display items.

Oamaru is the eastern gateway to the Mackenzie Basin, via the Waitaki Valley.

There is loads of accommodation within Oamaru. Bed and breakfasts, homestays and farmstays offer the opportunity to interact with the friendly people of this region.