Saturday 4th April: A hot sunny day. In the morning Edward and Peter went to a session at Science Alive where they made molds for making chocolate shapes in. Jonathan and I spent the time in the science centre doing as many of the exhibits as we could. We were going back into the science centre after lunch but the weather was so beautiful we decided to head on to our next destination - Akaroa (pronounced something like Acka-raw-a) which is south-east of Christchurch.
If you look at the following link you can see the aerial view of the Banks Peninsula, which Akaroa is on: http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/Geology/GeologyOverview/7/ENZ-Resources/Standard/4/en#breadcrumbtop The area is the result of many volcanic eruptions until about 6 million years ago. The geology is so different from the completely flat expanse of the Canterbury Plains that it attaches on to. It's a 80-90 minute drive along a twisty hilly road to the harbour area, which opens out into the South Pacific Ocean.
Akaroa is the only place in New Zealand where the French tried to colonise, but between the Frenchman Langlois 'buying' it from a Maori chief and returning with a ship of French people wanting to settle there, the Brits had turned up and moved in and were flying the Union Flag!
We had a walk along the waterfront as it was such a lovely afternoon. We found the campsite, set up on the hill overlooking the settlement, and cooked and ate tea.
The photos are a selection of views from the waterfront, and the first is the view from our motorhome on the site.
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