For the past weekend, Shannon and I were lucky enough to go to Akaroa. We hopped on a bus early Saturday morning which took us there in about 2 hours. This was frustrating in itself since the place is actually only 75 km away. Although we had to move through hills and the drive was very steep, we were also joined by numerous people that wanted to get out to take photos as well as a ticket confusion at a stop which cost us another 15 minutes...at least we weren't in a rush!
Firstly, let me say that I am so happy I invested in some nausea medication before we left. Lately the drives have been absolutely dreadful for me, and with the amount of hills that we go through, I was happy to be passed out as opposed to vomiting!
Once we arrived in Akaroa we had time for a quick lunch followed by a 2 hour boat ride that took us through four main bays in Akaoroa. We were lucky enough to see penguins, albatross birds, seals, the rare and very small Hector Dolphin (less than 4 feet long), and some really cool views. At one point, our boat went into a bay that was surrounded by massive cliffs that had been formed by once exploding volcanic lava that hardened as it hit the ocean surface!
After our amazing boat ride we headed out to meet a few friends for a night on the town. We discovered that Akaroa is an extremely small town (with 475 people during the winter, which jumps to 5000 in the summer time), and were beginning to feel like we were in small town Alberta--hence our reoccurring reference of Akaroa to Hannah, AB! Although, the town was busier than usual as a bike race from Christchurch to Akaroa was in full swing. Hardcore fit New Zealanders hop on their bikes and make the hilly trek to the neighbouring town with fastest times in just under four hours! Unbelievable! Even more unbelievable is the fact that some of the really keen ones take their bikes and bike home once the race is finished!
Firstly, let me say that I am so happy I invested in some nausea medication before we left. Lately the drives have been absolutely dreadful for me, and with the amount of hills that we go through, I was happy to be passed out as opposed to vomiting!
Once we arrived in Akaroa we had time for a quick lunch followed by a 2 hour boat ride that took us through four main bays in Akaoroa. We were lucky enough to see penguins, albatross birds, seals, the rare and very small Hector Dolphin (less than 4 feet long), and some really cool views. At one point, our boat went into a bay that was surrounded by massive cliffs that had been formed by once exploding volcanic lava that hardened as it hit the ocean surface!
After our amazing boat ride we headed out to meet a few friends for a night on the town. We discovered that Akaroa is an extremely small town (with 475 people during the winter, which jumps to 5000 in the summer time), and were beginning to feel like we were in small town Alberta--hence our reoccurring reference of Akaroa to Hannah, AB! Although, the town was busier than usual as a bike race from Christchurch to Akaroa was in full swing. Hardcore fit New Zealanders hop on their bikes and make the hilly trek to the neighbouring town with fastest times in just under four hours! Unbelievable! Even more unbelievable is the fact that some of the really keen ones take their bikes and bike home once the race is finished!
We ended up hanging out in the one and only bar in the place, which turned out to be really fun. A two man band-a 40 year old really tanned bleach blond lady and a 200lbs+ man who played the bass gave us music and entertainment to dance to all night long.
In a nutshell, Akaroa was far more fun than we imagined with beautifully scenery and amazing people--aside from the grumpy ladies at the restaurant that we went to...twice!
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