The alarm went off at 5:30 AM but I hit "snooze" for another 20 minutes. Got up at 5:50 and the sun was well above the horizon. WTF? Really? Already?
Luckily, the view from my hotel room was perfectly situated to catch a shot of the sun rising above the harbour breakwater. I then jumped into my clothes and was out the door in just a few minutes.
Sought out a high-angle from which to capture a view of the town and was rewarded when I stumbled upon the aptly named Lookout Point.
After that I wandered around the historic district just off the harbour where many original Victorian shipping and commerce buildings from the 1880s still remain.
Many have been repurposed into restaurants, antique stores, coffee shops and galleries. Some stand empty. I found access to a nice one, crumbling in elegant decay.
After a lovely breakfast of date nut loaf and a flat white coffee, I was rejuvenated and decided to take a mid morning hike in the nature reserve above the town. Climbed high enough to get yet another view looking down on the town. Eventually the hiking wore me out, which was my intention.
I dragged my sorry ass back to the hotel, had an early lunch, a shower and a nice lie down. Awoke in the mid-afternoon and, after firming up lodging for tomorrow night, I was back out on the streets.
By late afternoon the light was now coming from the west. This enabled me to shoot some of the elaborate Victorian façades in the historic district as well as the semi-abandoned railway station. I also stumbled upon the Oamaru Vintage Steam Train shops and was able to wander through the shed at will, photographing the restored rolling stock.
I then visited the Harbour History Museum. It was here I learned that Oamru has repeatedly struggled to be a viable port despite being in what some consider the hinterlands. The Victorian era was a Golden Age for this town because they expanded and dredged out the harbor, allowing for large vessels to transfer goods both into and out of the region. The economy exploded as a result and remained vital until the late 30s.
Both the main streets in town as well as the historic district are lined with numerous Victorian commercial and civic buildings that speak of the former glory days. They have preserved and are starting to restore some of these but it's still a little sad to see how run down some sections are and imagine how grand they were in their heyday.
World War II rang the death knell for the harbour, as the Allies struck it off their list of secondary ports. The shipping industry and thus, the port, never recovered. The rise of the trucking industry in the 50s hammered the last nail into the coffin. Shipping may have died out but there are some trades that have remained constant. Wool and milk products remain primary industries here. Life just outside the town center is largely concerned with livestock, dairy and ranching.
In some ways the landscape reminds me very much of Sonoma and West Marin counties.
Anyway, tomorrow begins a long and possibly arduous road trip. I'm planning on an early morning departure and will head back up into the Southern Alps. This time I will cross over them and descend to the West Coast, there to discover much wilder seascapes and miles of rainforest.
My ultimate goal is to land in the town of Franz Josef, near the glacier of the same name. Google Maps tells me it's a 6-hour drive.
With all the stopping I tend to do, it could easily be a 12-hour journey.
My goal is to be on the road by 7 AM. Will see how that works out.
OK. All for now.
Here are some photos from today.
No comments:
Post a Comment