I just had to have a separate post about this amazing day we had in Akaroa.
We heard about Akaroa from the chap who was our wine tour guide in Nelson. CJ said it was a must do on our list of things and it was echoed by the owner of the first winery we went too - so we thought, why not!
Akaroa is 90 minutes from Christchurch - though only 65 kms it did in fact take over 90 minutes and I am pretty sure you all can guess why? OMG the maximum speed limit for most of the drive is 35kms because of the twisty / turning road you are on and it is the only way in and out of Akaroa.
After that journey we make it to Akaroa and were simply stunned into silence; the scenery was breathtaking. Our day was perfect with blue skies, warm weather, a light breeze, and unbelievable scenery - check out those low hanging clouds - the land of the long white cloud.
When we arrived in Akaroa we learned it was an old French town - in NZ? Who knew! The street signs are even in French, which was quite nice to see.
Ted promised me a short hike (approximately 3 hrs) and then we could walk through the town, have a celebratory drink, and head back to Christchurch for our valentines evening dinner at Bloody Marys (a steak house). Well, I am pretty sure many of you have guessed the 3 hour hiked turned into a much longer hike - yikes!
In Ted’s defence, the hike up to the top of Craggy Peak was insane. It starts at a 45 degree angle and heads straight up for about a mile (OMG). It does eventually level out for a short time, but then the insanity starts with another straight up hike to the top, where the trail is not visible for all the long grass and foliage. The path is not level as you can feel rocks and uneven surfaces under your feet, because you cannot see where you are stepping next. One had to walk / hike very slow and place one foot down at a time - and did I mention (like most of our hikes) one side is a drop - so you had to make sure where you were walking or you’d tip over and go over the side … not a pleasant thought.
I motored ahead of Ted and made it to the top about an hour later and I will say the top was level and when you crested the view was stunning! I went back to find Ted, who finally came up out of the tall grass and said he was hoping I’d turn around as he just couldn’t go any further … but I told him ‘you’re at the top now’ … he smiled and walked to the crest like I had done earlier and was equally stunned by the view … It was magnificent to be honest.
However, now that we made it to the top Ted said he simply could not go back down the way we came up, so we found another way down, which turned out to the ‘loop’ - the 7 hour loop … See where I am going with this. lol
We finally made it back to the car park; tired, exhausted, drenched in sweat, thirsty and hungry … We drove into town and found an adorable cantilevered bar at the beach and had drinks (Ted had non-alcoholic beer as the drive back was going to be crazy again).
Ultimately, it was a great day and topped with dinner at Bloody Marys - a great way to spend our Valentines Day …
Cheers
Robert and Ted
