Yesterday (Easter here in New Zealand), I went on a long drive with my friend Jude again and her trusty hound Crocket. Our destination was Akaroa Harbor, about a 2 hour drive from Christchurch.
The dominate land feature in this area is Banks Peninsula, an old volcano from eons past. Akaroa Harbor is the center of the cone. Here's a map:
The green line is the route we took to Akaroa and the pink line is the one we took back. We stopped at Little River, a tiny rural community tucked into a cozy fold of hills. There is an amazing art gallery/store/coffee spot there that is well worth the stop. The shop has all kinds of hand-made art and crafts from local artists with a proper gallery on one side highlighting one artist in particular. We had a nice coffee and lunch on the outdoor patio.
We continued on to Akaroa, stopping at the top to enjoy the view. Below us is Akaroa Harbor. At the tail end of summer here, it is wonderful to still see so much green.
Feeling relaxed from the serene drive, we decided some retail therapy was just the thing that was needed to revive us. So we hit all of Jude's favorite shops. There were lots of people in town, strolling along the beach walk...seems like everyone woke up Easter morning and said, "hey, let's go to Akaroa!"
The beach and harbor at Akaroa.
Believe me, there were about 100 people just outside the edges of this photo (I might be exaggerating a teeny bit).
One of the charming cottages that grace the quiet lanes of this French-heritage community.
While there, I had my picture painted by a local artist. I tried to make conversation, but he was pretty quiet. Probably just really immersed in his art.
After several hours, we decided to head back, but on the way we took at detour to visit some friends of Jude that have a bach ("batch" -- a 'vacation home') down in a little secluded bay called Port Levy ("lee-vee"). We drove back to Little River, but turned off on a side road that quickly turned to gravel. It wound up the steep side of a valley and along the way we saw some pretty cool trees.
Gnarly!We crested the top and saw Port Levy way down below.
After arriving at the bach and introductions, Jude's friends Dave and Diane treated us to some freshly caught and battered flounder and cole slaw while we got to know the family a little. The view from the bach.
Jude sharing a tender moment with her pup (who was doing his best to wriggle free).
Back on the road as the sun fell and the night descended, Crocket doing what dogs in cars do best.
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