Oamaru (pronounced ‘Ommarroo’, with the O as in ‘clock’) is a beautiful town on the coast between Dunedin and Christchurch. Its beauty and wealth derive partly from it being a centre of farming and trade, and from its being a port; but also from the gorgeous white limestone that’s available here. This stone is used in much of the town centre and across the South Island; and a grey variation of it is even used for the New Zealand Parliament buildings in Wellington. Compared with the messiness of most New Zealand towns this is a world away, and makes Oamaru an almost compulsory stop if you’re touring the South Island.
