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Oamaru

Oamaru's public gardens provide a relaxed walk for parents and children. The gardens are free to visit, with a playground, duck pond and bird aviary, and wallabies and llamas to see. A holiday park is located at the far end of the gardens making this an ideal spot for those in campervans.

 

With BMX and trail-bike tracks, it's a great location for parents with older children. There is a BMX track off Old Mill Road as well as a trail-bike area nearby. 

 

Fenwick Park is a great place to go and is situated at Solway Street and Chelmer Street. Cape Wanbrow Plantation Reserve is off Waterfront Road. Parking is available at the end of the road and you will find Cape Wanbrow Lighthouse and the Blue Penguin Colony here as well. Marine Parade has parking available and overlooks Friendly Bay. Glen Warren Reserve is accessible from Warren Street, Glen Street, Stoke Street and Derwent Street.

 

Cromwell

Cromwell is in a fruit-orchard area on the shore of Lake Dunstan. With numerous picnic sites around the artificial lake, your family should have no problem finding a beautiful spot for lazing about on a sunny afternoon.

Moeraki

The Moeraki Boulders are a must. These huge marble-shaped boulders are strewn along the beach at Moeraki, some 40 kilometres south of Oamaru on State Highway 1. It is a five-minute walk from the car park to the boulders.

The boulders were embedded in the solft mudstone cliff until sea eroded the cliff, exposing the boulders. So how were the boulders formed? It was due to the crystallisation of calcium and carbonates around charged particles, the process taking some four million years. To help children understand, we suggest explaining how pearls are formed, as the same principles apply.