'Van with a view'

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We stayed last night at Akaroa, on the Banks Peninsula near Christchurch. The Banks Peninsula is the remnants of two extinct shield volcanoes and the campsite is right in the very centre of one caldera. At the height of volcanism, 8-11 Ma, both volcanoes were islands that merged. The Akaroa cone was erupted to the SE causing the sea to invade the centre of the cone when it collapsed to form a caldera.

What a view we had from the camp site high above the harbour! You don't get a view like that everyday when you wake up in Manchester. Breakfast on the 'upper morning terrace' was also something I will long remember.

Sadly the effects of the first Canterbury earthquake of 4th September 2010 is still evident in Akaroa. The hospital has been closed, many brick built structures showed structural damage and a number of other public buildings, are still closed and needing repair. Although it looks ok, the war memorial suffered damage which you can see if you look closely.

Back to Christchurch tomorrow so that is about it from the Maui. There was, of course, an incident involving 'lost' van keys and the waste dump station but it is hardly worth noting and I am sure you would not be interested......!

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Photos

Into the caldera
The island in the centre is a later cone formation.

Earthquake damage
The war memorial damage.