Bruce Waterfront Apartments Akaroa

The last day of our trip we were meant to go to Akaroa, a harbour town inside of a flooded volcano summit, where Paige was going to swim with the dolphins and I was going to go on a nature cruise. But Mother Nature didn't seem to like that idea and the day was cold, rainy, and windy. Naturally the company canceled the tours, but not before we had taken the 'French Connection' bus from Christchurch to Akaroa. (Apparently Akaroa was originally a French ...

... rock, in total peace! we are sure that very few bother to stick around after sunset to get to see ayer's rock as it then stood and so felt very privileged indeed! it did indeed rock! god, sorry, that is so cheesy! and that was our day at ayer's rock!!! that night, we decided to celebrate our anniversary and completing the national park in just one day with a few cheap pints at one of the resort bars, but it turned out that even one or two pints would later hit us hard ...

... first thing she said is "What church are you from?" I think part of the problem is that we had so many people go tonight, and even though our team only had 3 people (including 1 guy), I think it was pretty overwhelming for the women especially because there were probably close to 20 of us walking up and down the street. Next week, one of our leaders has a meeting with Salvation Army about how we can partner ...

... church cafe. Anyway, the thing we regretted missing most was a visit to the International Antarctic Center.  During the city tour, I asked the local guide what he liked best about the Center.  He responded that they give you parkas and mucklucks and let you experience minus 18 degree snow and wind conditions in a special room.  Not quite the incentive for us to call our travel agent for a change in itinerary. As it turns out, we were ...

... to Wilderness Campervans. I cannot say enough about how good this van has been and we were sad to part with it. Cannot recommend them highly enough. It sounds like we have been doing nothing but driving but we were never rushed and stopped frequently, for photo calls, we have circumnavigated the South Island! Now staying in a very nice hotel in Christchurch for the night before we fly up Wellington to embark upon our travels around the north island.

... By way of contrast, we later read in the local paper that on Waitangi Day (a week or so earlier) there had been several thousand people there celebrating and the old restored canoes had had their annual outing on the estuary. We returned to Akaroa for a late lunch back at our cottage. We had booked in the evening at Ca La Vie - a French restaurant run by a somewhat eccentric German woman. It is a small room crammed with tables with a tiny ...

... un copain du Monsieur. Bref faut croire que je suis pas encore assez loin (voir le titre de la journée d'hier). Akaroa est au bord de ce qui était un des trois cratères qui a forme la péninsule. Akaroa me fait penser un peu a Tadoussac mais en plus beau, avec moins de touristes. Et c'était une ville française a l'époque. Donc tout les noms sont en français, Rue Jolie, Café le Bar. Je soupe sur une ...

... platform, so even though me and laura werent together i met anna from the uk - she is 19 and has travelled so much, wish id had her guts and self awareness at her age. The journey was amazing, the most beautiful views imagainable with plenty of spots to get off and stretch your legs, the 4 hour journey flew by and all i could think was my grandad would love this! Once off the train in Greymouth i met back up with Laura and Nicola who she had met on the train, Nichola is ...

... in the water for 45 minutes. It was really cold when you first got in, but within a couple of minutes, most of me was fine, because every inch of me except my head and hands was covered in wetsuit material. My hands were in some serious pain after the first couple of minutes, but after another ten minutes, they were fine. Besides, I was far too concerned with the amount of seawater I was swallowing and my imminent drowning of that - I've never swum in the ...

... to Twizel for a couple of days admiring Mount Cook from the valley walk (me) and the steep walk (Andy). We're now a mere 85km from Christchurch on the Banks Peninsula in the Frenchified town of Akaroa, taking gentle strolls and possibly going on a vintage boat tomorrow if the weather is right. Then we just have to decide on one more stop before our last week in Christchurch on March 2nd.Don't know where the time went but hopefully we'll see some of you soon!