5th March – Akaroa
After a slightly disappointing day in
Dunedin we were hoping for a better day in Akaroa and we certainly were not
disappointed. The Arcadia was diverted
to Akaroa as the cruise terminal in Christchurch had been destroyed in the
earthquake two years ago. Our ship
arrived early and dropped anchor in the bay, which was formed from an extinct
volcano million of years ago.
We had a long tender journey from ship to
shore of almost three miles, where we joined a catamaran for a harbour cruise
and spot the wildlife – seals, hector dolphins and possibly penguins. We were one of the first boarding the
catamaran so grabbed the best seat on the top deck of the boat. The weather was perfect, sunny but rather
windy and views around the harbour were magnificent.
We saw many birds including oyster catcher
and several forms of cormorants, plus many others I didn’t recognize and seals
sunbathing on the rocks, but alas we did not see the elusive hector dolphins.
After two hours we returned to Akaroa,
which was a charming and picturesque coastal village, where we strolled through
town stopping occasionally to look in shops – it was just like stepping back in
time. After a bite to eat we climbed up
the hill to a spectacular garden called The Giants House that had been
recommended by other friends from the cruise.
It certainly was spectacular with
magnificent plants interspersed by mosaic sculptures. (See photographs).
We slowly strolled back to the harbour and
reluctantly boarded the tender to return to the ship. This had turned out to be a brilliant day.
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