South Island Road Trip Day 9: Dunedin to Oamaru’s Breathtaking Coastal Scenery

Day 9 Self-driving from Dunedin to Oamaru, Stunning Coastline

🚗 General Route
Dunedin ➡️ Oamaru, Driving Time: 1h30min
Actual time: Departed at 9:30 AM, arrived at the Oamaru hotel at 5:30 PM, total 8 hours
The weather was sunny today ☀️, and I couldn’t wait to go out early in the morning. So, let’s get going! Passed on all cultural attractions, focusing entirely on the coastline, enjoying the waves along the way 🌊

Key Points for Today‼️ Coastline + Penguin Colony

⚠️ Precautions
🧥 The wind by the sea is very strong, bring a windproof jacket, and make sure your hat has a strap.

🏞️ Stops Along the Way
📍Tunnel Beach
Probably named after a tunnel 😂, the scenery is absolutely stunning. There’s a trail that leads down to the beach. The last part of the path to the beach is sandy and very slippery, so be careful. It takes about an hour round trip. Does the view remind you a bit of the Great Ocean Road?

📍Otago Peninsula
Stopped by the lookout for a quick photo ✌️

📍Sandfly Beach
⚠️ Named Sandfly because it’s all sand. You must walk down to the beach where you can see sea lions resting on the shore. Watching them lazily sunbathe or play around will make you scream with joy inside, they are so cute‼️

📍Doctors Point Beach
The water is a beautiful glassy blue, truly stunning 😍

📍Shag Point Lookout
It takes about 10 minutes to walk to the lookout. The rocks by the shore are full of lazy sea lions, there are so many that their color almost blends with the rocks. Look carefully!

🍽️ Fishwife
Arrived here around 3 PM. Although they were open, there was no lobster today. The fish and chips were delicious, and the portions were huge. Two people ordered two types of fish, one serving of fries, and two drinks, totaling around $40. As shown in the picture, it was a lot.

📍 Katiki Point Lighthouse
⚠️ It takes about 10-15 minutes to walk to the viewpoint. Surrounded by the sea on three sides, it’s great for photos. There are many sea lions on the coast, moving around, super cute.

📍Moeraki Boulders
Not particularly interesting, more of a take-a-photo-and-leave spot, but a tip:
Navigate to the Cafe, it’s closer to the boulders.

📍 Oamaru Lookout Point
A lazy tourist spot 😂, drive straight to the top of the hill, and overlook the entire bay. The view is fantastic, definitely worth it.

📍 Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony
Didn’t know tickets could be bought for this, so ended up waiting by the roadside for the penguins. It was quite a spectacle, and I was lucky enough to get a VIP seat in the car. The little penguins are so adorable.

Spent the whole day taking pictures of the sea, and surprisingly, I didn’t get tired of it. Each place has its unique characteristics, and the presence of sea lions and sea dogs made the day even more joyful. Oh, how cute these little animals are, such a happy day 🥳