Over the weekend- Saturday ended up being very cold and rainy- I was not too ambitious, but did buy a ticket for the bus that goes around the city as a way to get more oriented. It is called "The Orbiter" and costs $3.20 for a 2 hour transfer.
Sunday was a bit more exciting- I went on a day trip to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula. This is a town about 1.5 hours from Christchurch that was originally a Maori settlement, and the French sent a large ship there to colonize the area (arriving in New Zealand in July 1840). The British, who had officially made NZ part of the British Realm in June 1839, heard about the French being on their way to Akaroa, so they got a ship there 2 days before the French, and they raised a Union Jack flag. The French did settle there, though, and the town likes to keep a French influence (with tasty croissants!).
This is a good place to take a boat ride to see Hector dolphins- the smallest dolphins in the world, and only found in NZ. Unfortunately the weather was too windy- whitecaps out on the water, and all boat trips were cancelled for the day.
So instead I biked around and went on some short hikes. The wind was so strong that it pushed me sideways at times. I wouldn't mind coming back, and taking the Scenic Drive that follows a high ridge of the Banks Peninsula.
cheers, EDF
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