New Zealand

---

Day 4

In the early morning, went to buy Petrol (@ NZ $1.75 per litre) at the nearby Shell Petrol Station. It cost about $85 to fill up the tank.







Drove to the Botanic Gardens & had a walk around for about 20 minutes.

Today we were all going for a drive to Akaroa, which is just over 80 kms from Christchurch. All the families (from Australia) were going, so we needed 3 cars.



On the way to Akaroa, saw some bare hills that had a rectangular patch of pine trees.



Then we saw this large rocky outcrop beside the road.



We stopped in the town of Little River for a short break. The old railway station had been converted into a tourist shop.



In a nearby field, we saw plenty of deer & some cows.



Above the field, there was a very high mountain.





Next we stopped at a lookout at Hilltop, where you get great views of Akaroa Harbour & Bays.



From the lookout there was a good view of twin, pyramid shaped hills.



We arrived at Akaroa around 11:15 am & parked the cars near the water.



The Maori meaning for Akaroa is "Long Harbour". The town is the site of the country's first French Settlement.



We had a short walk around the town, passing by shops, information centre & a war memorial.





Then we went to the Pepper Tree Cafe for brunch. The sign outside the cafe dates it back to 1870. We had cake & drinks.



The rest of the families left Akaroa after brunch to go to a picnic back in Christchurch, we stayed on to continue exploring Akaroa. We drove further into town & found heaps more shops & the main wharf where all the Dolphin Cruises depart.





We actually tried to book a cruise, but the lunch-time ones were all full, so we just continued on driving. We saw more views of the harbour & even saw the Lighthouse.





Left Akaroa around 2:00 pm & headed out on the Summit Rd, eventually turning off to Le Bons Bay. The road to the bay was very winding & steep. The mountains literally come right down to the sea.



After a short walk on the beach at Le Bons Bay, we drove back up the mountain & stopped at a lookout which gave spectacular views of Akaroa Harbour.



I went up a walking track to the top of the hill, so that I was on top of the Bluff. You had great view of Akaroa & of the winding road ahead. After I returned to the carpark, we continued back to Christchurch.



We did experience a traffic jam (unusual in NZ) due to a bad traffic accident on the main Christchurch road. We were diverted around the accident site by Police onto a gravel (very dusty) by-pass road that eventually connected to the main road again just before Little River.



After dinner (around 7 pm), I went with Ruby for a walk to the Botanic Gardens. It was quite a cool evening & a little bit windy.



There are plenty of colourful flowers. There is even a dedicated Australian section of the Gardens.





Next we saw the Peacock fountain.



Then we found the World Peace Bell.





The most impressive flower display would have to be the Central Rose Garden. There were plenty of different coloured roses.



There also was a Sundial in the middle of the Rose Garden. Just before 9 pm we left to go back to our Hotel, as it was just too cold to stay any longer.

---