Our kids apparently had this all figured out–after one week of school, they had two weeks off. Pretty sweet. So, we decided to cross the South Island to head to Banks Peninsula just south of Christchurch. Formed by two volcanoes, the Peninsula is a unique landscape of high hilled pastures and little coastal towns. The towns are well protected by a long and narrow harbor, the result of one side of the volcano giving way and slipping into the sea millions of years ago. Beyond the harbor lies the Pacific Ocean.
To get there, we had to cross the Southern Alps. We elected to take the southern route through Arthur’s Pass, which the guide books suggested was at the more dramatic course.
After an underwhelming visit to the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki (you have to time it for the high tide; fortunately, we have some time to get it right, stay tuned for another blog and some cool blow hole pics), we headed away from the coast and east toward the mountains. Jeremy may or may not have run over a duck (or as the kid were told, a “rock”) somewhere around Kumara–that duck decided to cross at just the wrong time. Once we shook off that literal bump in the road, we were captivated by the dramatic and extraordinarily wide mountain valley carved by the Taramakau River.
At Arthur’s Pass, we were visited by a friendly Kea who wanted snacks and then we took a short, but aggressive hike to a 131 meter water fall known as the Devil’s Punchbowl. Rosie started the hike in tears, but rallied enough to practice her hand at photography, snapping this pic of her parents:
Then it was off to Castle Hill, a totally weird field of giant limestone boulders. The place looks like a cross between a moonscape and a Salvador Dali version of Stonehenge. (check out the last scene in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to see it in film)
Our ultimate destination was the town of Akoroa, a town with a French flavor resulting from the landing of 63 settlers back in 1840. Had the French arrived a few years earlier, they may have laid claim to the entire South Island. As it stands, however, Akoroa is a charming little harbor town with a vaguely French feel.
We slept in sweet little cottage, or “bach,” (pronounced “batch” as in bachelor pad) right in town and were within walking distance to cafes, stores, restaurants, etc.
After a lazy first morning, we ventured out for what turned out to be a comedy of errors. Our goal was to hike the allegedly beautiful Pigeon Bay walkway to the Pacific Ocean. However, our first challenge was finding the road down to the trailhead–we found a dirt road with an ominous “4WD only” sign and we didn’t think our little Toyota Corolla (on loan from Dara’s job) could handle it. So, we drove on. We finally decided to try a different dirt road (with no sign) that was equally treacherous. Stopping for sheep, skirting potholes and puddles, we finally made it down the hill only to find a perfectly paved road that would have brought us to the same place without any drama. Then, we got to the trailhead only to find it closed during lambing season. Really? So, back up the hill, this time on the smoothly paved road, through a cloud bank, and back to the kid-friendly “Rhinoceros Track” near town.
The sign at the Rhinoceros trailhead said it was a 2.5 hour walk, which would put us back right at dinner time, so we felt this was a perfect way to salvage our afternoon. We climbed the trail steadily, up to amazing views of Akoroa and its harbor as we walked through pasture and woods.
As we finally reached the crest of the hill, we saw the rhino who was sharing some space with a herd of grazing cows.
This is where we should have stopped and turned around–the sun was getting low in the sky, the kids were happy to have reached the summit of the hill, seen the rhino and we could have quit while we were ahead. But, of course, we didn’t. We followed the trail over the hill and down to the next valley, only to find out 45 minutes later that the 2.5 hour estimate was ONE WAY. Now it was 5:30, we were 2.5 hours from our car and it was getting dark. What to do? Breaking the cardinal rule, we split up–Jeremy booked it back over the hill to the car while Dara and the kids walked into the neighboring town. Fortunately, everyone survived and we made it to dinner in time to stave off collective crankiness.
Saturday we decided to splurge on a touristy and slightly tacky boat ride in Akoroa to look for the Hector dolphin, one of the smallest and rarest members of the dolphin family. Although it was sunny in Akoroa, the mouth where the harbor opens to the Pacific was fogged in and we weren’t able to get out to the most prolific dolphin areas. Still, there was a lone Hector dolphin who was swimming around near the boat and gave us a little show–this also allowed the boat company to avoid giving refunds under its “see a dolphin guaranty.”
Post boat ride, Dara took the kids to Giant’s House, a rambling home and garden full of mosaic sculptures which the kids enjoyed so much, they made a slide show presentation for dad after dinner.
While the girls were chasing mosaic kiwi, Jeremy rented a mountain bike and killed his legs climbing the hills around Akaroa. He finally threw the bike in the car and drove up to the ridge and rode along a couple of tracks that gave a great views of the Pacific and of Akoroa harbor.
After a great dinner at our bach, we crashed, woke up, cleaned up and headed back to the west coast. This time we crossed the Alps through Lewis Pass, with a quick pit stop at a slightly creepy petting zoo/animal park where the kids fed llamas, sheep, goats and donkeys. The highlight was Rosie’s attempt to chase the wallabies. After a thorough hand washing, we hit the road back to Westport.
For more, visit the Flickr site for the rest of the pics.