Beautiful Akaroa

On Wednesday we did something out of character for us - we took a bus tour to Akaroa, which is on the east coast, about an hour from Christchurch. Lee had been to Akaroa before, and I had read about it, and wanted to see it. Akaroa is the only French settlement in New Zealand, and the street names and buildings remain French.

Akaroa is Maori for "long harbor". Apparently a French explorer sailed into the harbor and into Akaroa bay, where he negotiated to buy it from the Maoris. Papers were drawn up, money changed hands, and the French ship sailed back to France to find people willing to colonize this new world. By the time the ship returned with French settlers and 8 Dutch passengers, the treaty of Waitangi had been signed, giving the rights to all land in New Zealand to England. So, when they sailed into the harbor, they saw the English flag flying. The captain met with the English officials and explained that he had purchased the land, and provided documentation. It seems that the Maori had sold the land many times over, and that the Waitangi treaty superseded their transaction. But, the English gifted land to the French and also to the dutch passengers, so Akaroa became French, as well as English.



The bus trip was great - they picked us up at our hotel, and made several stops along the way - things that we would have never seen on our own. The trip to Akaroa took about 90 minutes, plus stops. It was overcast when we left Christchurch, but as we climbed into the mountains, the sky turned blue and the sun was shining - a gorgeous day! One of our stops was at Hilltop, which gave an amazing view of Akaroa and the many bays around there.

If you "google earth" Banks Peninsula, NZ, you will see that Akaroa and Lyttleton Harbor were formed by the eruption of two major volcanoes, resulting in two big harbors and many, many bays. It's quite amazing from the air.



We decided that our time in Akaroa would best be spent on a catamaran, doing a harbor cruise. This area of New Zealand is home to the rare Hector Dolphin, and the little Blue Penguin. We hoped to see both of these. First we had a wonderful lunch of fish and chips at a little local streetside establishment. The fish was delicious, and the batter was very light and not oily.



Now for the cruise! The seas were very calm, and I had my magic wrist bands, so off we went! We weren't far out when the Hector dolphins joined us, frolicking around the boat! And, we saw several little blue penguins in the water, too. We cruised close to the shore, where you could see amazing rock and lava formations. We were on the water for two hours, and got back into Akaroa at 3:30, in time to have an ice cream cone before the bus left at 4.



On the bus ride back we stopped at a cheese making shop, where we got some wine and cheese and crackers. Then we stopped at an amazing beach that was covered in flat rocks! Perfect for skipping! The next stop was at a fruit stand, where we got apricots and cherries, so we were all set for dinner back at our motel!



We loved Akaroa, and have a list of "next times". For instance, there are holiday rentals there, so we'd like to spend a couple of days in the area, just relaxing and enjoying the sea. Akaroa was definitely a highlight of this trip!

View of the Canterbury plains on the way to the east coast (Pacific Ocean)

Train at one of our stops along the way

Little River Craft shop. Little River was a "comfort" rest stop.

Phone box at Little River

First view of Akaroa and other bays, from the Hilltop Cafe and lookout.

You can see that there is still a bit of mist over the mountains. It was a bit windy, too - hence my "mohawk".

Getting closer to Akaroa!

Waiting for fish & chips! Yum!

The harbor, looking west.

We walked out to the Akaroa Head Lighthouse

Beautiful in the sunshine!

This is our catamaran - it was called the Canterbury Cat.

Heading out into the harbor

Hector dolphins!

The Hectors are among the smallest dolphins. The babies when born are the size of a rugby ball!

They reminded us a bit of the small spinner dolphins in Hawaii.

The coastline along the harbor.

More coastline, beautiful blue sea and blue sky.

One of the caves that were the result of gases trapped in the lava flow.

This was one of the larger cave areas. There were lots of birds nesting in the rock, and they were not impressed with our invasion. The walls of this cave were so steep that when we got inside, you couldn't see the sun.

More coastline.

Great rock and lava formations.

If you make this picture bigger, you will see the fur seal sunning on the rock.

More caves

Another big one - the kayakers were having a great time going in and out of them.

These flowers were on the beach at Birdling Point.

Miles and miles of flat rocks - each of them perfect for skipping! They also use them for door mats here - they glue them onto rubber mats - they look great!