Named among the ''hippest'' destinations in the world in 2012, then crowned ''Sharpest Town'' in the country last year, Oamaru is cooler than ever in 2014, according to travel guide publisher Lonely Planet.
The latest New Zealand edition of the guide book, considered to be the world travellers' bible, says; put simply, Oamaru is ''New Zealand's coolest town''.
The unassuming North Otago town was, for a long time, a pass-through on the way to somewhere else.
A neighbourhood of once-neglected buildings frozen in the late 1800s, now swarms with Oamaru's eccentric arts community, or as Lonely Planet describes them: ''oddballs, antiquarians and bohemians of all stripes, who run offbeat galleries, fascinating shops, hip venues and even an ''urban winery''.
For travellers, the focus is mostly on penguins and the Victorian Precinct, but the development of the harbour area, award-winning restaurants and the Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail, among many other quirky attractions, provide other distractions.
Another recent layer to Oamaru's unique appeal is the Steampunk movement.
The title of ''coolest'' town in New Zealand comes in the form of a throwaway line in the Oamaru section of the latest Lonely Planet edition, but Tourism Waitaki marketing manager Ian Elliott said they would claim it and build on it.
''[Lonely Planet] only put it in there because something really wonderful and fascinating is going on,'' he said.
The assessment may come as a surprise to residents of Oamaru.
''We are the coolest town in New Zealand and I think it's more exciting than people realise. It's now about how we build on what we've got,'' he said.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said he was delighted that Lonely Planet shared his enthusiasm for Oamaru. To be named New Zealand's ''coolest'' town was ''brilliant ... marketing that you just can't buy''.
It was a reward for all the efforts that have been made by the council and the community, Mr Kircher said.
''There are so many things that people have been involved in, working together on ... I think everything is coming together so well,'' he said.
For Phil and Tyla Scott, moving their brewery from Auckland to Oamaru's Victorian Precinct a year ago had been great for business.
''We're so excited about the future ... our business is going from strength to strength and the support we've had from the local community has been pretty much the sole reason for the strength of our business,'' Mrs Scott said late this week.
''It's not down to anything else, but the attitude of people we're surrounded by.''
In Oamaru, you could participate as much as you wanted to or ''sit back and admire the view''.
Domestic travellers in Scotts Brew Bar had told her they were taking a bit of a ''punt'' to stop and explore Oamaru, as word was spreading, and were blown away by what they found.
''The international tourists are just stoked to see what they're seeing [in Oamaru], but I don't think they realise how untapped it has been,'' she said.
