We checked into our hotel, the Pen Y Bryn Lodge, where as usual we were the only guests. It's an uber-Victorian home with all the trimmings, recently converted into a lodge. The owners, Roy and Bernice, were nice and quite fun to hang out with. There were about 5 bedrooms, a bit too chintzy but overall it's quite a pretty property. Unlike the other lodges, though, this lodge is all about the house, as they have a small plot of land and it's located in something of a suburban neighborhood. Judging by their occupancy rate, the suburbs of Oamaru may be a bit of a hard sell. We had a great dinner with our hosts, my favorite of the trip, then played some pool in their period billiard room before calling it a night. Pen Y Bryn Lodge (7) Room-7, Facilities-6, Service-7, Wow-0.

We then continued north to Oamaru, another gold rush boomtown famous for its stone, which was used for most of the grand buildings in the South Island. (This is now the fourth gold rush boomtown we've seen in the South Island. I think the tourism authorities may be overplaying this story a bit, as the whole island seems to be portrayed as a gold rush). We had lunch at the Bridge Cafe, which serves huge portions to huge customers. We then walked around the city for a couple of hours. I think we were the only tourists, but it's actually a semi-interesting town, with a real (albeit only a century old) historic center.