Akaroa and the tale of the hill climb

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Final day in Christchurch today and I'm going to be sad to leave. Why? Because I've had such a lovely time with Ed and Mimi and because I can see that Christchurch is a beautiful place, despite the destruction. Once again I've been treated like royalty and it has been fantastic to catch up with them after such a long time.

As a final day treat, we're off to Akaroa today, all six of us, in the beast that is Ed's 4x4. Akaroa is about an hour away from Christchurch and is a lovely little inlet town, surrounded by hills, and with a heavy French heritage. The drive to Akaroa was beautiful in itself, sweeping through the fields and hills, with the odd sheep thrown into the middle of the road to make the drive all the more challenging. We stopped at a lovely little fruit producers on the way and picked up about 4 kilos of fruit. Small overestimate but it was all too good to turn down! The boys disappeared with my iPod, only for me to find over 100 photos of the family's house, gardens, farm animals and pet pooch...

As we drew into Akaroa itself, the view spanning the inlet was out of this world - again, the most blue of waters against the yellow and green hills. We went for a long walk along the coast, past the historic lighthouse and then up into the hills a little before heading back for a picnic lunch at the beach. The kids played, while we ate gorgeous avocado, houmus and ciabatta. At this point we should have turned around for home, however...

Earlier in the day, we'd all remarked about this small hill, jutting out into the Akaroa bay, and how it would be good to walk it. There was still time, so we headed off - this time just me, Ed and Mimi. What started out as a gentle walk ended up being a vertical hill climb (or run, as Ed would have it - putting me to shame, puffing and panting!). However boy was it worth it - amazing 360 degree views of the whole bay, and the perfect ending to a wonderful few days with them and their family.

Everyone bar me and Ed conked out on the way home, such was the fun we'd had, but when we got back, I had one more mission to undertake. The small matter of a promise I'd made to Will about building some LEGO with him. I built a jet propelled car before heading on my way, very sad to say goodbye but having had a wonderful couple of days. Thanks guys - and remember, you are welcome at my house in the UK, or hopefully Perth one day, in the future anytime you like.

The road to Kaikoura is fortunately simple - straight up the coast, around a winding road that clings to the ocean. Beautiful but there's no time to waste with photos - if I don't get to the hostel in Kaikoura before 7.30pm, I'm in the car for the night...

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