Beautiful Oamaru is the largest town in North Otago, on the South Island of New Zealand. It is a charming coastal location of 14,000 residents surrounded by rolling hills of limestone which has been used in many of the gracious Victorian-era buildings of the region.

Oamaru has superb public gardens, timeless Victorian architecture and two penguin colonies.

It also has a four-star motel that has just had its asking price slashed while still offering great returns for decades to come.

Adrian Chisholm, from Tourism Properties, said the AAA Thames Court Motel on Thames Street in Oamaru, presented a great freehold motel investment at NZD $1,780,000.

There was a massive price reduction which meant investors could reap a return of 5.5%. There was a long lease of 32 years remaining, until 9 December 2054.

“It is a very well established business in a great, central location,” Mr Chisholm said.

The complex is situated on two titles, comprising 2034 square metres. The titles are 252 Thames Street and 31 Nen Street, Oamaru.

Mr Chisholm said the property had 10 motel units but there was room for further accommodation development of the Nen Street property.

The spacious ground-floor studio apartments offer queen and single beds, full cooking facilities and ensuite.

The superior one bedroom apartments each have a queen bed and two single beds as well as full cooking facilities and ensuite.

The two-bedroom family apartments each have a queen bed in one bedroom, two singles in the other bedroom and two singles in the lounge, plus full cooking facilities and ensuite.

The executive king suite, on the ground floor, offers a king bed, plus full cooking facilities and ensuite.

Mr Chisholm said the large motel had generous grounds, as well as plenty of off-street parking for guests.

Oamaru is the main town in the fertile Waitaki District. It is 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, and 80 kilometres south of Timaru.

The town has produced many famous people including the early Australian Prime Minister Chris Watson, who was born in Chile but grew up in Oamaru

All Blacks rugby union captain Richie McCaw was born in Oamaru in 1980 and grew up on his parents' farm. He started flying gliders around the magnificent peaks with his grandfather a fighter pilot in World War II.

The town is in a superb coastal location with hiking trails and alpine cycling routes and it has an abundance of attractions drawing a steady influx of visitors year-round.

Oamaru’s wealth was built on the refrigerated meat trade in the 1880s and grazing remains a large driver of the local economy along with tourism and wine.

The glorious 19th century buildings constructed from local limestone are wonderful to tour and Oamaru’s Victorian Precinct remains a busy hub with quirky shops, galleries, and artisan craft boutiques.

Oamaru Steam and Rail takes patrons on a picturesque train ride along the clay cliffs of the Victorian Harbour, to the Red Sheds, where local artisans and craftspeople sell their wares.

The Steampunk HQ marries Victoriana and science fiction in a museum where visitors are encouraged to climb, jump and turn levers on and off.

The Moeraki boulders, about 50 giant granite stones on the sandy shores of Koekohe Beach, are sources of endless fascination.

No tour of Oamaru is complete without seeing the rare blue penguins.

It is one of the best places in the world to see the smallest of the world’s penguins as they come ashore to nest in the rocky outcrops.