Update from Kaikoura

12-20-09 Dunedin to Akaroa

For our short time in Dunedin and on the Otago Peninsula we managed to pack a lot in and have a great time. First of all our hosts at Capt. Eady’s Lookout, Richard and Ana are just fantastic people. They have lived in their home in the small town of Portobello for more than 30 years, raised three boys and have seen many changes take place in the area during that time. Not only did they help steer us on what to see in the area but they were really just a pleasure to sit down and talk with. Especially since both of them are music lovers and I have a little bit of that background in me as well. We really regretted that we hadn’t planned on spending more time there.

While on the peninsula we spent some time at the only mainland Royal Albatross colony in the world and walked the gardens of the only castle in all of New Zealand. We made our way to a beach where the sea lions decided they didn’t need to be hanging out on this particular (quite windy and cold) day and an aquarium with a very active octopus that had only seven arms. Finally, we finished our busy day with a splendid dinner and a bottle of wine at the “1908” restaurant in downtown Portobello.

The next morning, after a light breakfast we headed off on our longest drive of our whole vacation. We were in the car and on the road for about six and a half hours. That doesn’t include the time we took for bathroom breaks, food, and a little bit of sightseeing. One place we stopped along the way was the Moeraki Boulders. The Moeraki Boulders are a geophysical phenomenon - they were formed many years ago and can be seen submerged in the sand along the tide line of the Pacific ocean near the little town of Moeraki. They are truly fascinating. (see picture)

12-23-09 Akaroa

It has been a couple of days since I wrote the entry above so I’ll just continue. This entry will likely not get posted before we get to Kaikoura so I suppose I will fill in those blanks shortly too.

Akaroa is a sleepy little town (for most of the year) on the Banks Peninsula (don’t forget I posted that map a long time ago) just south of Christchurch. The town has a population of about 500 people during the off season and swells to a whopping 6000 people during the summer months. But that doesn’t really happen until Christmas which means it’s still pretty quiet around here.

Yesterday we took a tour of the eastern side of hills and villages around Akaroa Harbor (the harbor is 7 km long) but this time I wasn’t driving. Instead we hitched a ride with the local postal delivery man. Essentially he delivered his mail and gave us a lot of history about the area. I would have preferred a few more picture taking stops but what I got was nice and it was interesting none-the-less. I mean where else would you see a defunct microwave oven being used as a mailbox? Plus we got to see parts of the countryside that we never would have found on our own. The trip took around six hours so by the time we got back to town we had just enough time to get a snack to hold us till dinner then head back to the cottage to do some laundry. Laundry, I believe I’ve mentioned that before.

Today we took a boat cruise around the harbor with the hope of seeing some Hector’s Dolphins. Hector’s Dolphins are the smallest and rarest dolphins in the world and Akaroa Harbor is one of the few places they can be seen. While we were at it we saw some of the cliffs that surround the harbor as well as sea lions, a salmon farm, and various caves. All in all a nice two hour trip. And guess what? The weather was absolutely beautiful! This has been the warmest day so far and I actually got to wear shorts in the afternoon. Yippy!!

Later on we took to some of the walking trails around town to see various monuments and points of interest. We needed to at least make an attempt to work off some of the vast quantities of delicious food we’ve been consuming. Tomorrow it is off to Kaikoura where we will spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, then on Boxing Day we’ll be on yet another boat viewing (and swimming with) Dusky Dolphins.

Stay tuned!!