Channel 7’s Sunrise began its South Island tour in Oamaru yesterday.
The Sunrise team filmed several live crosses for its weather segment.
The show will be in Dunedin today and tomorrow before heading through to Cromwell and Glenorchy later in the week.
The Sunrise team loved being able to experience everything Oamaru had to offer, Sunrise producer Sean Flynn said.
"We’re spoiled for choice with things to cover and so, we like being surprised by different things.
"And I feel like Oamaru has it all. I mean, who has penguins and a Victorian precinct within hundreds of metres of each other?"
Sunrise partnered with Tourism New Zealand to "show the best of what the South Island has", he said.
The national agency got in touch with Tourism Waitaki, which then had to pitch the district to Channel 7 which ultimately thought it was an ideal fit.
The fact that the channel chose to come to Oamaru was a great reflection of what Waitaki had to offer, Tourism Waitaki general manager Philippa Agnew said.
"That shows that we do have a really great offering. It’s probably really unique compared to what you can see in Australia," she said.
The Sunrise team visited the Criterion Hotel, where it was treated to a performance from local band "The Fabulous Bastards" before heading to Craftwork Brewery for a beer tasting.
Sunrise presenter Katie Brown was blown away by the "unique and different" town.
"I rocked up [on Sunday] and was like ‘what is this place? It is just something else’.
"I can’t believe how pretty it is and how quirky it is. I love it. I’ll be back."
