Akaroa

Unfortunately Dan wasn't able to take the annual leave that he though he might be able to have which was very frustrating for him. This meant that poor old Wen and Ian were left with Emma....not only to tour guide but to drive! They thought that Whale watching was bumpy....obviously they'd never had the joy of veing driven by moi!!! Having experienced NZs geothermal properties in detail in the North Island we decided against Hanmer Springs and ventured instead to Akaroa. The small french settlement over on the other side of the Banks Peninsula.

We love Akaroa and it was nice to see it at a different time of the year! You can certainly see the seasonal variation that affects the small town. Both places I wanted to take Wen and Ian to for food and coffee were closed for the season and the dolphin swims were only going out once a dy as opposed to the three trips a day the last time we were there! But it was still beautiful and it was lovely to wander around when it was not heaving with people! The weather was unbelievable too, in fact it still is, we have nothing but blue skies and sunshine for more than a week now and I am certainly not complaining! We had a lovely lunch in Ma Maison, where earlier in the the year we had had the most amazing ice creams.....had to be repeated this time too! So we pootled I took lots of random photos (including this one outside a restaurant...cheeky I know but it made us giggle!), we ate and then we ventured back into Christchurch do my least favourite job....grocery shopping!! However only to see Wendy's face light up when we passed this shop!!!!