Chatham Islands and New Zealand 2012: Christchurch and Akaroa

This morning felt quite rushed, as we tried to organise transport to pick up our car hire (from their random city location). As such, there was slightly less time to get ready and take pictures as I’d had liked, but it was good to get out in the nice weather in the end. Before leaving, we had time to put our jail costumes on and have typical criminal pictures taken.

We picked the car up around 9:30 and headed straight for Akaroa, 80km away. On the way there we took the main road, saving the “tourist drive” and “summit road” for the way back. We passed Lake Ellesmere and then stopped at Lake Forsyth. Lake Forsyth gave an almost perfect reflection of the hills and clear blue skies, like that of a postcard. We stopped at several spots along the way, to take photos of the stunning views in the lovely sunshine!

Arriving at Akaroa just before 11am, we parked up and decided to have a good look around. It seemed to provide lots of activities, for all sorts of people. There were shops, restaurants, cafes, fishing trips, yachts, canoes, swimming with dolphins and a big beach to walk along. Dad and I walked along the wharf, then up to the lighthouse. There were some lovely views in this little French town, helped by the beautiful weather. Nearer the lighthouse, we found a tree of significance to Dad, when he was here with mum 20 years ago. After viewing most of what Akaroa seemed to offer, we went to find somewhere for something to eat. We ended up at a café and each had a breakfast Panini and drink, which were ridiculously priced, before being hit by a 15% surcharge due to Easter bank holiday. That said, we both enjoyed it and I had a lovely raspberry slice to finish.

Fed and watered, it was onwards and upwards! We started the ascent up the big hills (approx. 1200ft) with our rental car, along summit road and tourist drive. There were plenty of places to stop for photos, with some breath-taking views! We were joined by multiple cyclists throughout the day, although there were many on this road. Other than cyclists, the roads were very quiet, on the whole. The views of Paua Bay, Akaroa and the other smaller bays were incredible. Hopefully my pictures do the views justice, as those views were definitely postcard worthy! On the descent and on the return drive to Christchurch, it was about time for my daily nap! We stopped by Lake Ellesmere for dad, as he was tired, but I stayed in the car as there was little to see there.

We carried on and ended up in Christchurch in the early afternoon, hoping to have a quick look at the City centre. We parked along the River Avon, fairly close to the Hospital and walked from there. With many roads being closed due the earthquake repairs, navigating ourselves to the centre was a bit harder. In the end, we followed the river for a short while and ended up at the “red zone”. The red zone encompassed most of the city centres main buildings, including the Cathedral (which they plan to demolish soon). As such, there was little opportunity to take any pictures, with the only pictures being of some earthquake damaged buildings. As the weather stayed sunny, we took a leisurely walk back to the car, stopping for some ice cream along the way. The ice cream was great value for money at approx. £1.35 for a double scoop of flavours I’ve not even seen in the U.K. I had orange choc chip and candy floss, whilst dad had 2 scoops of boysenberry. Mine was delicious, the candy floss being my particular favourite. I tried boysenberry on the Chathams, so I also know this is super tasty.

As we finished viewing Christchurch, we continued down state highway route 1, towards Timaru. We were heading towards Fairlie, which is between Ashburton and Timaru, along the East coast. The drive took just over 2 hours, with the roads being very quiet. We arrived just after the sun had set on the mountains when we arrived in Fairlie. Unsure of the exact location of our accommodation, we asked for directions at the local supermarket. Rivendell Lodge (yes as in LOTR), was approx. 10km away and would be easy to pass by. The B & B appears very nice, with a pleasant host.

Upon arrival, we soon realised we would have to go back to Fairlie to eat out, before everywhere shut early (as it is Easter Friday). We drove back in to the one street town and stopped at the fish and chip shop. We ate in the restaurant and both enjoyed a cheeseburger and chips, before heading home for the evening. We arrived back at the B & B around 19:30 and had a quick cup of tea and chat with our host, before going up to our room.