KAIKOURA to AKAROA

Day 340 (Gosh! Have we really been away THAT LONG??)

Wednesday 6th February 2008

Kaikoura - Akaroa - Waitangi Day today (New Zealand's National Day!!)

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Bob told us Kai Koura means Food & Crayfish in Maori. And with all the estauries, lakes and the Pacific Ocean everywhere, i'm not surprised! We didn't have any cray fish tho! Drats. I feel like some crays!
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We left our ducks quacking at us over breakfast and decided we'd drive and stop wherever we saw a campsite and were tired.

It ended up being a place Bob suggested - Akaroa. And what a BEAUTIFUL little piece of paradise it was too!

First we stopped at a couple of wineries along the way. We were determined to buy a white wine to have with our dinner. We've been drinking red wine for so long now, for health reasons, and staying away from the white wine.

BUT....when in NZ...one has to drink the white! IT's superb. We stopped at the Kaikoura boutique winery and ended up having a wine tasting at 10am!!!

The lady opened especially for us, so how could we not! It turned out today was Waitungi Day, New Zealand's National Day..and a public holiday..and the winery wasn't supposed to open until 11am seeing it was a public holiday..but she said since we were there..she'd open.

What a lovely lady! She introduced us to her black persian cat..and told us all about their wines...and said tastings were $4 each but decided we could taste and forget the charge. Consequently, we went away with a delicious bottle of Kaikoura 2006 sauvignon blanc! What a pity they don't export to Australia. If they did, we'd be their customers. It's BEAUTIUFL wine!

We also went to Mudhouse winery and loved the sauvignon blanc there as well! We bought a 2007 bottle. Ohlala...another wine for our Boot Cellar! hehe

Arrived in Christchurch at mid day (got a message from Bob spot on lunch and he was joking.. saying we'd just had lunch...and we had..>! Eerie!! He suggested we go to Akaroa which is why we went!)

Christchurch was a hive of activity. Everyone was celebrating the public holiday and there was a magician telling stories in the 'square'. Was funny watching the entralling looks on the kids faces! It's a popular square called the Cathedral Square. We enjoyed our time there just people watching!

On the way to Akaroa (about 38km' from there) we stopped at a little V in the road, and spooted a little cafe called BLUE DUCK CAFE! Imagine that??? Of course, we had to call in and have coffee and a blueberry muffin! Yummy!

There were a heap of bikies with backpacks there..and on the road out...we saw a heap of campervans. There are SO many touring here on the South Island!

Akaroa is a french provincial town..nestled in the valley...with a beautiful blue, aqua lake..so gorgeous! As we approached the town we saw large olive fields and of course, the bay. SO lovely. We heard a lot of french people talking in the supermarket here...so it must be popular with the french! We passed a little place on the way called Duvachelle and Robinson's Bay as well which looked like two other gorgeous little towns as well..

So many beautiful places here in NZ!

And driving is always pretty. There are no vast distances without something to look at like it is in WA. No wonder people tour and travel here in Camper Vans so much.

We arrived at the Top Ten Akaroa Holiday Park in Akaroa about 6pm (after we did our dinner shopping) when it was still light and set up our tent. Greg asked for a 'quiet site with a view and out of the wind!' and the guy said he did'nt want much!!! But..we were lucky enough to be given just what he asked for! (Ask and you shall receive!!)

Our campsite was situated amongst the trees with a beautiful beach backdrop and alongside some cabins that didn't have anyone in them so we were able to use their table and chairs and their clothesline to air our towels after our showe! We saw other tents parked all in a row, with their cars parked opposite. So impersonal! We felt lucky!

We enjoyed with the steak and sweet potato we cooked on the Park BBQ's! Yep. We went to the Four Square and bought the tenderest steak we could find..and cooked it la divel style! (Argentina) Very nice.

We sat on the bench with our whole tomato, capsicum, and carrot and bread roll, balsamic vinegar and oil on a plastic plate..and wondered how we could cut it with our blunt knives (the carrot and the loaf of bread mainly)..but still. We managed! Whole is good! I think we need a sharp knife..but we just can't keep stocking up our car pantry, only to have to discard the lot when we have to catch the ferry back to Wellington!

One thing i noticed at the shopping centres here in South Island are the PAM products!! I'm not sure if they're available on North Is (didn't notice) but here, the products are on everything...from porridge, to veges, to olives to bread! Popular lady is PAM! We just head for her products now that we've tasted them and enjoy them!

I'm getting used to camping now...and brushing teeth, combing hair, showering in communal bathrooms, having dinner in 'public' and wearing my robe from bathroom to 'house' (tent) and feeling like we're on view all the time.

It's not so bad. It just takes a little adjusting.

If it were a 'holiday' i'd have no problems adjusting at allto camping...but being that we're camping at the end of long travel experience, i think it's more of a challenge. Especially having to buy all the gear to do it..and knowing we can't keep most of it.

But..it's ALL GOOD!

Just can't wait to get HOME!!!!

Oh yeah...tonight..just before we went to bed..we spotted a HEDGEHOG!! I've never seen one of these in the wild..!!!! So cute~ It rolled up in a ball.....with all it's spikes upwards. Very cute. We heard later they become road kill, as do the possums. So sad. Made my night tho!

PS PLAYED UNO!!!!! But didn't make it to 500....so the battle is ON! hahaha (bought UNO in Chile and it didn't have rules..but we printed some out..so we're now playing and love the game! A good 'campside game'!!!