New Zealand Holiday

The harbour at Akaroa. -click on the photo to enlarge.
Anne standing in front of Wilderness House -click to enlarge
The view from Wilderness House. Click to enlarge.

Our first stay was at Akaroa which is situated 90 minutes from Christchurch on the South Island. Akaroa was the scene of the first settlement of the British who arrived just 5 days before the French. Both happily co existed together, making the settlement a flourishing fishing port. Many of the streets today have French names.

Like many similar developments the harbor was overfished and to date the 1,000 local residents rely on tourism. We stayed at a delightful "Bed and Breakfast" called "Wilderness House"click here to view and our hosts were great company and told us about the local history and attractions.The beakfasts were suberb.The pictures depict the beatiful harbour, and in front and looking down from Wilderness House.

We spent an enjoyable afternoon on the Harbor and encountered a school of dolphins, known as "Hector Dolphins" who are only native to the South Island. We also saw a colony of seals. Because of the large swell our "Skipper" would not venture out beyond the "Heads".

In the evening we had a super dinner at a French restaurant and on another occasion visited a little boutique movie theatre and enjoyed the equivalent of "gold class service".

To day we have traveled to Dunedin in the South East, taking the scenic route, which allowed us to view the snow capped mountains s and unusual river gorges.