This morning we packed our stuff up before going out for breakfast. We went to a very nice little coffee shop about a block from the apartment. We had bagels with cream cheese and pesto. It was quite good. The barista told us that pesto on bagels is quite common in New Zealand. I think we will be having bagels, cream cheese, and pesto when we get home.
After breakfast we got an uber to campervan office which was close to the airport. During the drive we noticed that the houses are very close to each other and have very little property. Most of the houses along the road had fences which we guessed provide a little privacy since they are living so close to their neighbors. The side streets had fewer houses with fences, but still more than we would have in the US.
There were a lot of people at the office picking up campervans so we waited for a bit while the people ahead of us were serviced. We watched a video on various aspects of the van while we waited. Eventually it was our turn. Danny from Maui, the campervan company, filled out paperwork with us and then gave us a quick overview of the van. Once Danny was done with us we unpacked our suitcases and returned them to the office where they will hold them for us. Then we were on our way. Here are pictures of our van.
First stop was the grocery store. We weren’t sure how much we needed to provision, specifically we weren’t sure how often we would see a grocery store and how much we would be eating out. We ended up getting food for lunches and one dinner.
The ladies at the grocery store were really friendly. In fact everyone is really friendly. Our accents give us away and everyone asks how long we have going to be here and where we are going. They all gave us suggestions on where to go and what to see.
With provisions stowed we drove to Akaroa, about an hour and a half away. The views along the drive were beautiful and reminded us of Switzerland. Lots of green rolling hills covered with sheep and cows.
We stopped at Barry’s Bay Cheese Factory. They have been making cheese there since 1895. We tasted some of their cheese and Rick talked cheese with one of the owners. Of course we bought some.
We continued on to Akaroa. Akaroa is on the Banks Peninsula. The peninsula is the remnants of several volcanos. It has two large harbors and many smaller bays and coves. Akaroa was the chosen site for a French colony in 1838 however when the French settlers arrived in 1840 they found the British had already established sovereignty over New Zealand. The French stayed on and Akaroa has some French overtones.
We drove through the cute little town and then decided we better figure out where we would spend the night. Our campervan company has an app showing potential camp sites. We were told that we should change the batteries tonight so we need a site with a power hookup. There was one that met our criteria just on the edge of town. We drove in an got a site with a fantastic view.
We relaxed there, sitting outside and enjoying the sun. A duck family was hanging our the van, looking for food. We didn’t give them any, but they kept us company.
After a little while we decided we would go into town for some dinner. We could have walked but we are on a hill and the walk into town takes 20 minutes, but the walk back is mostly up hill. We decided that we didn’t want to do that on a full stomach so we drove into town. We had dinner at a lovely French restaurant. We felt like it made up for not having a single dinner out in New Caledonia. The food was delicious.
After dinner we returned to our camp site and wrote the blog. So far we really like the campervan and the freedom it affords us. In fact Rick thinks we should buy one at home. I say maybe, but let’s see how it goes.
Here’s our route from Christchurch to Akaroa.
