Awesome Akaroa - January 2009

Akaroa is an old whaling town on the head of Akaroa harbour. It was originally settled by the French, but the British nabbed it from under their noses. With the presence of so many French flags and plaques reminding us of who was here first, we think they haven’t quite got over it yet! This is fab for us though, as there are lots of French-influenced historic buildings, French place names and a general air of je ne sais crois We feel right at home!



Our home for the next two weeks is a French cottage, set in a shady garden complete with veggie plot, full of ready to pick produce, and cottage flowers. There are all sorts of trees, groaning with fruit. Pear, Grapefruit oranges, plums and apricots, as well as lemons and mulberries.

We are looking after Biggles, a 9 yr old maltese terrier, some doves who visit for a feed daily, and some Monarch butterflies! The Monarchs like the swan plant so we need to check them daily for caterpillars, if there are too many caterpillars we have to cull them!! Thankfully, so far only one caterpillar on each plant!

The cottage garden is a haven for all sorts of birds and the birdsong in the early morning and later in the evening is beautiful. We have seen the bell bird, huge wood pigeons, fantails as well as blackbirds, sparrows and thrush - not a squawky thing in sight!!

Weather has been extremely kind - sunny, warm and cloudless blue skies. The night sky has been clear and the stars have to be seen to be believed. With little or no light pollution we can see hundreds and thousands of stars and the milky way can be seen right across the night sky.

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.

Christchurch - The Garden City

We arrived like a couple of late night drunks, at 1am, searching for the key to our motel under the door mat, in the dark. The landlady came down in her nightgown, after talking to us from her bedroom window. She had obviously forgot we were arriving!

We woke up the next day to a bright and sunny Christchurch and headed into the city to explore. Christchurch is known as the Garden city and it is full of parks and gardens. It is the South Island’s largest city although very compact, built on a grid structure, with the Cathedral Square in the middle. The River Avon runs around the city, with grassy banks and weeping willows, old

oak trees, ducks and bridges, very reminiscent of its namesake. Walking along the banks you would be forgiven for thinking you were in England, apart from the cigales chirping away. No squawking parrots here, but very tuneful blackbirds, massive wood pigeons and very vocal Kokakos, like a black bird, noted for their singing ability. People were also enjoying boat trips in punts.

We sat in Cathedral Square for a while, watching the world go by, there were street entertainers, a few market stalls, and Christchurch’s resident wizard, who appears most summer lunchtimes

to cast “spells” and pontificate. We found out later from our friendly landlady that the motel we were staying in was the site of the wizard’s house which was burnt down a few years ago, in an arson attack! Small world!

Talking of small world, Christchurch has a bank which has the same logo as Lloyds Bank, the black horse, even the carpet was the same as the bank pre TSB. Ahh the memories…



We had a lovely meal in a Vegetarian restaurant, a rare treat, before walking a bit more, covering most of the city and its major sites.

The flower displays in the parks and gardens were stunning, and the Botanic gardens with its lawns and woodlands, rose and water gardens were particularly welcome, as the day grew hotter.

There is a fleet of restored trams which take passengers past many of the city centre sights.

We made our way back to our motel room, on weary legs, having walked the length and breadth of the city, made use of the free internet connection, a luxury we may not have for a few weeks, and then crawled into bed exhausted.

Next day our lovely landlady gave us a lift into town, and then met us later with our luggage, what lovely people these kiwis are turning out to be. This enabled us to have a look around the museum, housed in a part of Christ’s College, similar to England’s college of the same name, the pupils are dressed in blazers along English public school lines. The museum had an extensive display of traditional Maori society, and a selection of genuine Antarctic relics.