Before heading to the Banks Pensinsular and tonight's destination of Akaroa, we drove to the Christchurch suburb of Sumner where David, Jess and Isla Dixon normally live. However, they are currently inWanaka where we will meet up in a few days but we thought we would like to see the area. All very smart but the weather was bit grey and the seafront was not at its best.
Our first attempt to drive from Sumner to Little River via Lyttleton was thwarted by a road closed sign. This came after several roadworks with traffic lights, clearly where earthquake damage was being repaired. Rather that drive up any more dead ends we decided to take the easy way out and drive back into Christchurch and pick up the main road to Akaroa.
By now the weather was much better, the sun was out and 25C showed on the camper van gauge. The relatively short distance to Little River was covered quickly and the LLW immediately found the coffee and cake shop. She had eaten half of my share before I had to protest loudly to secure a few morsels!
Now the main reason for stopping at Little River was to try part of the rail trail which follows a disused railway track from Little River to Hornby on the outskirts of Christchurch. The beginning of the trail was only 200 metres from our coffee stop so off we rode. It was lovely, firstly through a shady area (much needed) and then along the shores of Lake Forsyth where numerous black swans with cygnets, great crested grebes and many other waterfowl watched our progress with interest.
The entire trail is 50Km and we had never intended to cycle the whole way so we rode about 8Km and them 8Km back which given the intensity of the sun was probably enough.
On then to Akaroa and the drive over the pass around French Hill was spectacular as always. We descended to Barrys Bay which is now very well known for cheesemaking and then around Akaroa Harbour to the town of Akoroa itself.
The town was settled by french explorers who did a deal with the Mauri to buy the land. They sailed back to France to bring back a ship load of settlers only to find that the Brits had done a deal with the Mauri to buy the whole of NZ! This probably contributes to the less than amicable feeling between the French and the Brits.
Whatever is the truth, Akaroa retains a very french colonial feel is is lovely.
We then almost had a mutiny. The LLW was tired from her exertions on the Little River trail, and did not respond well to Ray's suggestion that we cycle around the town. However, she did eventually see this as a good idea and we cycled to the lighthouse, along the waterfront, replenished our stores and raided ANZ Bank (or to be more factual their ATM) for some cash.
A roasted chicken had been procured and we headed back to the camp site, showered and settled down for roast chicken, asparagus and potatoes followed by cheese and fruit.
A rain storm was moving through the resort now and again we congratulated ourselves on making the most of the good parts of the day. The first time we visited NZ in a camper van we decided that we would take every day as it came and make the most of it whatever the weather. This has stood us in good stead and we can honestly say that we have thoroughly enjoyed every day on this trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment