Blogs from Akaroa, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 10

We stayed at Don’s for couple of days, being entertained by his vast knowledge of everything, enjoying great food (including my favourite Hokey Pokey ice cream, with honeycomb crunchy bits) and going for some lovely walks around the area. On the Saturday we visited Taylor’s Mistake a local beach near Godley Head that has a great selection of original style NZ bach’s (the Kiwi equivalent of a beach hut), some of which have become more like homes. Sunday saw us start the day at Don’s weekly meditation class, which focused around the Buddhist belief that ‘you may die today’ - essentially another way of saying don’t have regrets, but get on with your life. Then we walked around Victoria Park and up to the local landmark “The sign of the Kiwi”, before driving to Governor’s Bay, ... read more

Hello from New Zealand!! Well we arrived in Nz at 11.00 pm at night so did not see alot on the way in so when we woke up the next morning we did not no what to expect!! We were awoken with a massive cooked breakfast and me and chris had separate double beds each that night..Romantic ay (due to chris having a cold)!! We then got taken to the campervan hire company by our hotel which was handy! we were told that 30% of the people in Nz did not have insurance on there vechails and that it would be avisable to get it so we did through Britz/maui it was a reasonable price to get full comp so if any thing happens to the van we are covered!! Also as we paid for ... read more

Today we decided to do a tramway tour of Christchurch known as the 'garden city', viewing the cathedral, river Avon & a few punters. Then on to New Regent Street, which contains Spanish architecture in a quaint street, which is the only example in New Zealand where the houses are built to a single style down the same street. This street is known for its architectural style, cafes and specialist shops. We did a quick tour of the Botanical gardens which had an impressive water fountain, and then had a look at the colleges - very similar to Cambridge! Next on to Cathedral junction & then we returned to Cathedral Square - the heart of the city. In the afternoon we made our way to Akaroa harbour, which had amazing views of the surrounding hills, ... read more

back again Australasia » New Zealand » South Island » Akaroa By KiwiStyleApril 23rd 2007Maaike Hoogstede ey! ik ben even op weg gegaan naar Akaroa om de mensen gedag te zeggen. Paul bleef in Christchurch om zijn auto te verkopen, wat is gelukt (dus ik verwacht een avondje uit eten natuurlijk :P) mar goed, echt super tof om weer terug te zijn, tis echt een van mn favoriete plekjes van NZ! willen me weer hebben op de boot, zijn niet zo tevreden over de andere mensen en hadden altijd goede comments over mij van mensen en nu horen ze amper iets over de guides als me... read more

Akaroa, on the Banks Peninsular east of Christchurch, was largely settled by the French and continues to have a French-style feel to it. (The French street names are original but I think the flags are just for the tourists.) The British prevented the French from claiming Akaroa by only 3 days by signing the Treaty of Waitangi with the Maori and posting a warship there to emphasise the contract's legality. Having left good weather on the West, the weather was typically bad and I spent a rainy night talking and playing cards the other residents including three German medical students: Birte, Sebastian and Nillet. Sebastian was from West Berlin and Nillet from East Berlin and I was amazed at the passion each felt when they talked about their differing views of the fall of the ... read more