Akaroa - Long Harbour

The B&B we stayed in Christchurch was a real home from home with very friendly owners. We shared breakfast with them and watched TV in the evening with them and as Den said it was like staying with your favourite granny and grandad !

On Wednesday, we went to Akaroa a beautiful village on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. It has a sheltered harbour which resembles a large lake. Not being the high tourist season, it was very peaceful and quiet and very relaxing.

We went for a two hour hike round the hills, and then treated ourselves to some of the best fish and chips we’ve had in a small café on the harbour.

We left Christchurch on Friday morning and drove for three hours to Lake Tekapo. This is close to the snow covered mountains.  Depending on the weather we may do some hiking in the area. We are staying in another B&B, but just for one night. From Tekapo we will drive another five hours to Queenstown the adrenalin capital of New Zealand where Den hopes to have some fun.

We have booked a trip out to the Mt John Observatory at 22:45 tonight to go star gazing. This is something we have always had an interest in and we are really looking forward to it. Obviously its best with clear skies, but the observatory has the country’s most powerful telescopes so we are keeping our fingers crossed. This area has the most spectacular night sky in New Zealand