Around the World and Back: May 2012

We finally made it to Queenstown!! It is even more beautiful than I thought it would be, stay posted for some photos of the most epic views we've seen since arriving in NZ. But before I get into that, I want to tell you about the last town we were in, Oamaru. After stopping over there for a night on the way to a weekend in Dunedin, we loved it right away and wanted to find a way to spend more time there. Luckily the hostel we stayed in (also super charming) was taking on workers-for-accommodation, and for a mere 1.5(ish) hours a day we got our own room. After Dunedin we were able to return to Oamaru for an extra week and a half or so. Also, as a super added-bonus, my long lost college friend, L Pay (aka Lindsay) came to visit us! It has been the best reunion ever; imagine reconnecting with a friend you haven't seen in 6? 7? years, and having them make the trek across the world to come visit you? Amazing. I'm so glad she arrived during the Oamaru portion of our trip, and now we're getting to see all the rest of the south island that we've been waiting for for months! Gracias, L Pay! ;)

So. Two blocks away from the Empire Hotel (our home for the time being) was the cultural center of the town. Old historic buildings lined the streets in a small grid representing another place and time. There was a fusion of two themes in that part of the town that just came together beautifully: Victorian and Steampunk. Oamaru is the steampunk capital of NZ (and possibly the only town in NZ where steampunk is really a thing...), and they have an amazing museum featuring the "dark side" of steampunk. For those of you not familiar with "steampunk," here's what wikipedia has to say about it:

Steampunk is a genre which originated during the 1980s and early 1990s and incorporates elements of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, horror, and speculative fiction. It involves a setting where steam power is widely used—whether in an alternate history such as Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United States, or in a post-apocalyptic time —that incorporates elements of either science fiction or fantasy. Works of steampunk often feature anachronistic technology, or futuristic innovations as Victorians might have envisioned them, based on a Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art.

The museum ("Steampunk HQ") is kind of like a haunted house. It takes your eyes awhile to adjust to the darkness, and there are creepy/cool surprises around every corner. There is a video playing on a loop that you can watch from the comfort of an old, haunted dentist (or barbers') chair. While you're watching the video you may be getting hypnotized.... ;) There are all kinds of treats in the museum, like haunted steam engines with ghouls riding around in their steam, mixed media art pieces made of real dead rats, metallic skulls and crossbones, steel melded together to form jagged sculptures, and old tvs playing endless fuzz. We weren't allowed to take any pics inside the museum, but afterwards we went out into the backyard where all kinds of contraptions were, and we could snap away to our heart's content.

There is another aspect to the steampunk culture called "Steampunk Earth" which focuses more on the mythological, medieval, goddess-like realm. We went to the most amazing art space, the Grainstore Gallery (in an old grainery), filled floor to ceiling with paintings of masks, busts, clown-like art, fairies, masquerade, handmade clothes, local music, and my favorite for-sale item, old local posters for music/art/wine/food festivals in the area. I really wish I had some photos of this place to show off how amazing it was, but it just didn't seem appropriate to take photos of the art. I do have some photos that are really cool which were in the downstairs area for your viewing pleasure. :)

Other cute things about Oamaru: blue-eyed penguin colonies, penny farthing bicycles (those old fashioned bicycles with one giant wheel in front, one tiny wheel in back), oh-so-friendly staff in all of the darling bakeries (singular), wine bars (singular), pubs (singular), & bookshops (two!), the cutest farmers market you ever did see, and a Victorian tea room with people dressed authentically to serve you high tea. It's just too cute for words. (Cute, cute cute, sorry I keep saying that but seriously...). I definitely think I could live and work there.

And, despite many locals' concerns that the theft of our car would taint our view of Oamaru, it most certainly did not. It was a random act of crime, and could have happened ANYWHERE (to us, hahahaha), and did not dim our view of the town one bit. (Oh, and I forgot, Oamaru has the sweetest botanic garden! Pics of that included below. :)) So who knows, maybe Brian and I will one day find our way back to Oamaru, don some Victorian garb (Brian already wanted to get started on the facial hair portion), and tuck away into the cutest little corner of a NZ town we've seen yet.