cross-posted from: https://no.lastname.nz/post/1604033

5/7-8/7/25 We left Christchurch for Akaroa, on the Banks Peninsula. We journeyed over a hilltops high enough that we were, for a time, driving through cloud. Descending, the views of Akaroa’s natural harbour were pretty, but limited by low cloud. Our camping spot for the night was just a minute’s walk from the water’s edge - another lovely spot.

The next day, the sky was much clearer and we could really appreciate the beauty of the harbour - the stillness of the water surrounded by hills crowned with a glowing winter sky. Akaroa is known not only for its beauty, but for its French roots and its wildlife. In particular, the endangered Hector’s dolphin can be seen playing in the harbour - a sweet, very little, black and white dolphin with a dorsal fin resembling Mickey Mouse’s ear. We strained our eyes repeatedly over the harbour, but had no luck spotting one.

The French influence is the result of a French settlement here in the mid 1800s. The French had hoped to claim Aotearoa as their own, but the British pipped them to the post. Street names (e.g. Rue Jolie), business names and local cuisine hint at its past.

Our time in Akaroa was spent fishing off wharf, browsing shops (with some accidental purchases), and having lunch at a “patisserie” which had a slightly disappointing lack of French pastries (although I did enjoy a croque monsieur).

The girls and I also explored the Akaroa lighthouse which had been relocated from the Akaroa Heads, a good distance away, back in 1980. We had the pleasure and privilege to meet a volunteer who had helped move it - one of only a few still living. Among other interesting stories, he told how the lighthouse had been decommissioned and was facing destruction. At work one day, a colleague said to the volunteer, “I’ve bought this lighthouse - will you help me move it?” The volunteer travelled out to the heads to look at it this historic lighthouse rooted to the blustery top of treacherous cliffs and immediately was onboard, convinced it was something special and must be saved. He worked with a team every weekend for eighteen months, meticulously dismantling and labelling each component and reassembling it in Akaroa town. It’s a historic piece of mechanical beauty, and it’s now a popular tourist attraction in Akaroa. I can’t help but feel that the real treasure, however, was the knowledgeable and quietly passionate gentleman still overflowing with enthusiasm for his legacy, all these decades on.

That night we camped in the next bay over, where BlueAether and the girls fished off a long wharf. Also tranquil and also beautiful. And also no luck with the fishing.

The next day, we set off for Tekapoo. Before we left the peninsula, however, we stopped at the Barry’s Bay Cheese factory. Barry’s Bay Cheese was one of the makers of the delicious cheeses we picked up at the Riverside Market in Christchurch. BlueAether and the girls stayed in the camper as I got out, and I was told I was allowed three minutes by BlueAether and five minutes by the girls. I may have gone over both time limits a litte… The cheese factory sold offcuts for a fraction of the price of their standard cheeses, which appeals to both the eco-wannabe and the miser in me. I returned to the camper with more cheese than I should have, including some more of that yummy pepper-crusted havarti.

Our final stop before we left the peninsula was Birdling’s Flat. Birdling’s Flat is a pebbly beach at a river mouth, known for its deposits of agate - translucent, semi-precious stones. We walked over the beach, scanning the ground as we went, and found many pretty stones, including a couple of small pieces of agate. We are accumulating a rock collection. It’s becoming a bit of a problem.

We headed southwest, parallel with the coast, pausing at the Chertsey Book Barn. Chertsey is a dot on the map, but it has the South Island’s second largest used bookstore housed in an enormous, cold, dark shed with cats curled in the slightly warmer nooks. Despite the largeness of the space, the books are crammed in. There are a LOT, and although we stopped because we actually needed to refresh our books, it would have been worth the visit anyway.

We stopped at Ashburton next to do some camper chores and essential shopping - a great town for this - and then headed inland into Mackenzie Country. Mackenzie Country is big country: wide, open, rolling high country hills; expansive skies. It features in oil paintings, where farmers in leather hats and oilskin coats stare out towards a distant horizon, perhaps with a sheepdog at their side. I find it soul-stirring land. To our excitement, as night began to fall, we began to make out snow in the hills we were passing through. When we finally pulled into a campground a short way from Tekapoo, we found there were patches of snow where we were spending the night. The girls were thrilled.