Trip to Akaroa 20/01/09

A cruise liner was in port today, which doubled the population of Christchurch, making the street entertainers’ job a lot easier, and giving the wizard someone to shout at..

We waited for our shuttle bus with our bright Shrek-green suitcase in the middle of Cathedral Square, with the trams and tourists bustling past us. We were just wondering whether we should try and make alternative arrangements, when the shuttle bus arrived. Whether it would be big enough to hold us and our extensive luggage was another matter. Fortunately we fitted it all in, along with a few other not so laden travellers, and set off out of the city on the road to Akaroa.

It didn’t take long for the buildings to disappear and the open countryside to stretch out in front of us for miles. Christchurch is situated in the Canterbury plains, with the South Pacific sea to the East and with the Southern Alps to the West rising behind it.

The area is manly used for farming cattle, sheep and wheat crops, and vineyards are dotted about in some areas. Forestry is also a big industry.

It took us about 1.5 hrs to get to the Banks Peninsula, which was formed by the eruption of the Lyttelton and Akaroa volcanoes. Banks Peninsula was, until some 25,000 years ago, an island. It is now joined to the mainland. When the sea level rose the sea breached one of the sides of the crater, filling the base of the volcano with water, and forming the bay. We arrived via the Summit road which gave fantastic views of the striking scenery. We drove to the edge of the volcano and then down into the massive crater, down to sea level. The walls of the volcano encompass us, creating a micro climate.