Banks Peninsula
September 12, 2007 on 12:38 pm | In Uncategorized |
I am now into the last week of my stay in New Zealand. The winter is slowly turning to spring and the blossom is appearing on the trees. The snow is starting to melt and the nights are getting longer, just as the nights back home start to draw in. I have been down here a while and have not had the chance to visit my Scottish friends in Christchurch so last week I headed up for a quick visit. They live in Little River which is a very small village on Banks Peninsula which is a volcanic protrusion just down the coast from Christchurch. As it is pretty much a volcano which has grown over with vegetation and had the crater filled up with sea water the scenery is spectacular. The actual crater has an exit into the sea in the harbour of Akaroa, which was originally settled by the French. It still has a very quaint colonial feel to it and many of the shops there still have French names. We got some of the best fish suppers I have ever eaten in Akaroa chippie. We then headed to Okains Bay where there was once a large whaling industry and settlement. Okains Bay is a beautiful long sandy beach which reminds me a lot of the beaches back home. It was totally deserted except for a very large sea lion bathing itself in the sun!! From there we headed back towards little river which is on the other side of the crater to Akaroa and up to the top of the crater edge so we could get a view of the whole peninsula. We were lucky enough to be there on a clear day so we got s view right down the coast towards Mt Hutt and the Southern Alps, which were shining white in the sun. We were also lucky enough to be able to hitch a ride on a quad bike to take us up the track tot he top of the crater. Here we are with my friends daugher, Isla, who is named after that remote and beautiful island back home.
Lesley McKenna
http://www.chunkyknit.com
Professional snowboarder, film maker and ambassador for Visitscotland. All sorts of outdoor sports from skiing to mountain biking and now mixes her time on the Snowboard World Cup Tour with time in Scotland doing these sports.
