Akaroa

Gayle and I headed out at 9:30 a.m. (with our laundry in tow) to catch an Uber to the Ezi Rental Car company.  We will use this car for our grand adventure around the South Island.  

We were in our Toyota Rav 4 headed for a day trip to Akaroa by 10 a.m.  Akaroa is a tourist resort town on the Bay Peninsula, about 50 miles from Christchurch.  All the photos we saw of Akaroa were stunning and we knew we wanted to go.  We didn’t have any specific things to do, just beauty to see.  Gayle took the first driving stint.  Not far outside of Christchurch we came upon this fascinating square of trees on the hill, lovingly referred to as That Damn Square.

The road looks like a straight shot in that picture but soon after That Damn Square the road became extremely curvy, going up the side of one hill and then a steep turn down again.  It was challenging driving.  We stopped for a photo op once we saw the bay below us.  The bay is a gorgeous blue against the lush, green hills.  What we didn’t know at the time was that around every corner we would want to stop and take another photo.

Once we got down to sea level we stopped at Barry’s Bay Traditional Cheese shop.  We were desperately in need of a bathroom and something to drink.  We didn’t find a bathroom but we did taste some delicious cheese.

In desperate need of a bathroom we headed for Bully Hayes restaurant to eat lunch and avail ourselves of their restroom.  We were delighted to find a table with a bayside view.  Plus, the fish and chips were delicious.  Akaroa was just as beautiful as we heard it was.

After lunch we walked out onto the peer.

There were an abundance of King Shags (part of the cormorant family.)

A few blocks down from where we ate lunch is the Akaroa lighthouse. The lighthouse was staffed from 1880 to 1977 before it was replaced with an automatic light.  The lighthouse was then moved to Akaroa by a preservation group.  We stopped to get a photo.

I was followed around the lighthouse by a local woman who wanted to tell me about the dolphin excursion boat that wrecked this year, requiring the rescue of its 40 passengers.  Akaroa is the place to go if you want to see Hector’s dolphins.  They are the smallest dolphin species and endemic to the South Island.  As my new friend talked about the boat wreck two Hector’s dolphins swam by.  I only got a brief glimpse of two fins.  When I finally extricated myself from the woman she immediately found another willing, well maybe not willing, listener.  The site of the lighthouse is a truly lovely spot from which to admire the bay.

I had read about Onuku Marae and wanted to see it. A marae is a Maori building for sacred and community gatherings, often surrounded by a communal gathering space.  We drove down a very narrow, curvy road and found it.  I was amazed at how small it is.

On the way back to Akaroa we saw a little cemetery built on the side of a steep hill.  We pulled over.  Our grandfather was a sociologist/anthropologist and he liked to stop at cemeteries.  He said that you learned so much about a society by its cemetery.  This was a Catholic cemetery.

The sign at the cemetery said that the Dissenters’ cemetery was at the bottom of the hill.  I was fascinated by the use of the word “dissenters” and looked it up later.  I learned that the dissenters in the cemetery (at the bottom of the hill and behind a fence) were mainly Presbyterians.  As it turns out dissenters is just another name for Protestants….of course.  I’m glad I looked it up. 

I had read a blog the night before we drove over the Bay Peninsula that said the most scenic route to and from Akaroa is along Summit Road. I convinced Gayle it would be a great way to leave Akaroa and I would drive.  Gayle has a fear of heights.  A twisty mountain road brings her fear to the forefront.  I had no idea just how treacherous this road would feel.  The road was narrow, the curves intense and many of the curves had no guardrails or if they did they were broken wooden guardrails.  Gayle sat next to me reminding herself to breathe.  When I would apologize she would said, “This is good for me.”  The blog I read was correct.  The views were absolutely stunning.  We realized that Summit Road is so named because while you mostly look down on the bay at other times you see the ocean on the other side of the hill. Gayle did jump out of the car a few times and capture photos for us, which in no way can truly capture just how stunning it was.  She was so brave.

I did convince her to reenact Titanic for me.

On the hill above us there were people rock climbing.  I am guessing they do not have a fear of heights.

Another thing I had read about in the same blog that sent us down Summit Road was the Shamarra Alpaca Farm.  At 11, 1 and 4 you can tour their alpaca farm. Everyone I know who was cuddled an alpaca has loved it.  It was 3:15 by the time we ended our trek on Summit Road and the alpacas were just ahead.  I batted my little sister pleading eyes at Gayle.  Cuddling alpacas was not on her bucket list.  She lives on a farm.  But she saw how badly I wanted to go and said, “Let’s do it.”  We headed up the one way narrow road to the alpaca farm.  After strict instructions on approaching alpacas slowly from the front and petting their necks (not the top of their heads or flanks) our tour began by visiting “the boys” as the guide called them.  Male alpacas are friendlier and more willing to be touched and hugged.

I was in absolute heaven, although I admit I was very timid.  I didn’t want to be kicked and, at that point, had not yet learned that alpacas do not have upper teeth and therefore cannot bite you.

While most of the people on our tour chased the alpacas around trying to get the best cuddling photos, Gayle put down the seat on her cane and just sat nearby.  It wasn’t long before the whole herd had moved down to stand around the sane woman sitting quietly in their midst, demanding nothing of them.

Our next stop was the pen where the mothers and babies were grazing.

The final part of the tour (and my absolute favorite) was to feed the alpacas.  It was a hike on uneven ground to the feeding pen.  Gayle opted out.  We were each given a large bowl of food with another bowl on top to hide the food on the bottom of the bowl.  This trick was to keep us from being mauled by hungry alpacas.  You can feed them by hand or from the bowl.  I tried both ways.  I could have stayed there and fed alpacas for hours.

By the time we left there and headed back to Christchurch it was closing in on 5:30 p.m.  We still had a winding road to navigate and laundry to do.  I had researched and found a laundromat on the edge of Christchurch with easy parking.  My plan was that we would load the washing machines and then find a place to eat in the mall beside the laundromat.  We arrived at 6:30 p.m. and most of the mall was already closed.  We threw our laundry in the washing machines and drove around the corner in search of food.  All we could find was a Pizza Hut but it would have to do.  We took our personal pan pizzas back to laundromat.  When our clothes were mostly dry we headed back to the hotel.  We were spent.  Gayle finished drying her panties on what she deemed the underwear chair.  

The day was filled with beauty, just as we hoped. But we were completely spent.  We didn’t blog.  We crawled into bed and called it a day.