1/31–Akaroa–morning walk

Today we anchor in the bay of Akaroa. This is a volcanic caldera dotted with little uninhabited bays and filled with wildlife. The town of Akaroa has a population of about 700 and a long history Maori settlements and English and French acquisition.  It was the first colonial town on the South Island,and much of the architecture has been maintained and preserved.

The sail in was probably awesome, but seeing that it was before dawn, we’ll wait for the sail out!  But the little harbor where we are anchored is beautiful and we spend a lovely hour or so on our balcony with our breakfast, just looking out at the golden hills around us.

Akaroa Bay VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

This is the “new” port call for Christchurch, which was so devastated in the 2011 earthquake.  Typically we would sail into Lyttelton, which is much closer to Christchurch, but the port was so damaged that it won’t be open again until 2015.  The whole area, actually all of New Zealand I think, is on a major fault line between 2 plates, so earthquakes are fairly endemic, but the 2011 one of the worst for damage and death toll. 

For us, though, Akaroa is a great alternative. We’ve already been to Christchurch (pre-quake) so there is no need for a long trip up there. We can stay here in this little half French village and enjoy our day.

As with most places in New Zealand, there are tons of walking tracks and different things to see here in the village.  We have a couple of walks picked out for the morning and afternoon – with a coastal boat ride in between.

We hop on the tender at about 8am – it takes 1/2 hour, but that’s simply because there is only one docking location at the pier, so we have to go very slowly while we wait for the tender ahead of us to disembark. Once on shore, we head through the cute little “English” part of the village and up into the suburbs, such as they are, toward the Graves of the Garden walk.

We’ve read that the people here are very proud of their gardens, both public and private, and the walk up the hill to the cemeteries doesn’t disappoint.  The flowers and gardens are gorgeous, with a profusion of hydrangeas overhanging the garden gates.

 

The higher we get, the more gorgeous the views.  It’s stunningly beautiful here – the lush greenery, the deep blue of the bay below and the rolling grazing lands on the other side of the bay.  Exquisite.

We keep going up (phew! This is better than the gym!), and find the little road that cuts off to the Catholic cemetery.  There are 3 cemeteries here – Catholic, Dissenters and Anglican.  They contain many old graves of the early Akaroa settlers and there are fabulous stories that go along with some of the graves.

Like the story of the grave of Josephine, the 3 year old daughter of LeLievre’s, some of the most important founders of Akaroa.  There is a rose bush by Josephine's grave that continues to bloom for over 150 years.

Then there is the tomb of Jerry Keifer, an American serviceman who met so many wonderful and dedicated Kiwis during the Korean War that he requested he be buried by the sea in New Zealand.

Sadly, here, again, is the evidence of the earthquake’s damage.  Many tombstones are toppled and are laying next to their tombs.  Sad, but still an amazing piece of history.  And the overall setting is so beautiful and serene, with the bay shining in the sun below us.

		Catholic cemetery VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The Dissenters Cemetery is right below the Catholic plots. 

It was founded for the Presbyterian community, which was started by a devout woman in the mid-1800s.  She actually enlarged her home to make room for the congregation.  Her son built a house with a store “Fire and Ice” on the corner of her property –and it is still here today.

Onward we hike – now through part of the Garden of Tane (which we will explore more thoroughly in the afternoon) to the Anglican Cemetery, by far the largest of the 3 plots.

We’re in the wilderness now! Following a little narrow track through the woods, watching for directional signs. 

 

 

 

Should have worn our hiking boots!  It’s pretty, and cool (because today is turning out to be one of the hottest yet), so we don’t mind the hike through the trees!

We do finally end up in the Anglican cemetery – atop a high knoll overlooking the bay.  This place is huge, but again, with earthquake damage apparent everywhere.  sigh…

		Anglican Cemetery VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We hike out above the Catholic Cemetery and are rewarded with this great view….

Walking back down to the waterfront, we pass these great flowers – furry when budding, but similar to lilies or freesia maybe when opened?  Beautiful – with a bee that is either really into the pollination process or has literally died on the vine – because the thing doesn’t move the whole time we are taking pictures!

We also spy Akaroa’s native pigeon, the Kereru,  just sitting in a tree – watching us walk by.  It’s huge and incredibly pretty for a pigeon, as well as tame (as you can see by how close Ed got to it when taking the pix)!

On into town, to hang check out the restaurant options, then hang out on the pier waiting for our Coast up Close boat tour.