Our plan today was to leave Christchurch and head out across the Banks Peninsula to Akaroa but not until we had a chance to take the Gondola up for a birds eye view of Christchurch.
We really should have gone yesterday as it was a much clearer day and would have given us a better perspective of the city. So, it was with a little apprehension that we climbed about and headed to the top of the Port Hills.
When we got to the top the view of the city was very misty to the naked eye and even messier through the camera. We decided to have lunch in the Cafe and this time resulted in the weather clearing up enough for us to get a few pictures.
We did get a surprise when we got off the gondola and that was the view from the other side. We had a very nice view of a portion of Banks Peninsula and Lyttleton Harbor. Banks Peninsula came to be from two volcanoes 10 -12 million years ago of which Lyttleton Harbor is the cone of one of them.
When we finally descended we headed for Akaroa which took us through Lyttleton and the scenic route through Banks Peninsula. It was a very pretty drive but one you had to pay attention to where you were going. The narrow roads combined with the many turns didn't leave a lot of time for sightseeing. Many stops were necessary to really enjoy the view.
In order to get to Akaroa we had to make a fairly significant climb and when we got to the top we had a pretty good view of Akaroa and the remainder of Banks Peninsula.
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| Akaroa Harbor |
We stayed the night in Akaroa which is a nice little village with a population of 700 residents with 30% if them over the age of 65. It is also a favorite summer resort town and the population grows to about 7000 people in the summer. We had planned to take a cruise around the harbor but the weather did not co-operate. So I took a few pictures from our campsite before heading north to Kaikoura.
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| Akaroa |
The drive to Kaikoura took us back across the Banks Peninsula into Christchurch before turning north on Highway 1. We passed through a pretty lush agricultural area that had mostly grapes growing, a lot of grapes. The terrain remained like this until we turned off the highway onto the Gore Tourist Road which was a loop off the highway into the village of Gore and the Cathedral Cliffs.
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| Beach at Gore |
We made the loop through Gore and then got back on Highway 1 for the remainder of the drive into Kaikoura. The next part of the drive was billed as the most picturesque but we are going to have to take their word on it. Shortly after leaving Cheviot it started to rain and it rained all the way into Kaikoura. We could see enough to see that it would have been spectacular viewing but the rain and fog made it impossible to take pictures. I tried once and this is what we got.
If we get some good weather over the next couple of days I think a drive back down the coast will be in order.
It was late when we finally reached Kaikoura so we headed for the Holiday Park and settled in for the night.
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