It was the ungodly hour of 1.00 am this morning when we finally reached our hotel in Christchurch.
We had a pleasant flight that left Melbourne at 7.00 pm and arrived into Christchurch at 0015. We had completed our passenger arrival declaration on-line using NZ’s newish NZTD app and we cleared immigration and customs quickly. Our hotel was only one hundred metres from the terminal and it was an easy walk with an airport cart stacked with bags and Jill’s disability gear. We slept well, although the night was very short.
This morning we were back at the airport terminal to pick up a car and then visit a number of stores to collect some essentials. We had forgotten to pack the charger for Jill’s mobility scooter but through a quick Google search we fortunately found a mobility store that would rent us one for the duration of our stay. We found a toilet seat raiser at the local Bunnings store and some breakfast supplies at the Woolworths (formerly Countdown) supermarket. Finally, we braved the downtown traffic around the construction of a new stadium to pick up a disabled parking permit from a government office. I thought we might have had some reciprocal rights with our Australian permit, but not so. We needed to apply, and pay for, a temporary disabled visitor’s permit for use in New Zealand.
Our plan is to do a ‘figure eight’ loop of the South Island of New Zealand with our first stop at Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula.
The Banks Peninsula is a bit unique in New Zealand because of its French background. Some streets and locations still have French names. It was named after Joseph Banks, the famous naturalist. Whilst it was first sighted by Captain Cook, a Frenchman, Captain Jean Langlois identified French Bay in Akaroa Harbour as being suitable for settlement. He made a down payment with the local Māori And believed himself to be the owner of the Banks Peninsula. In 1840, sixty three immigrants left France to come to Akaroa but when they arrived, they learned of the treaty of Waitangi and British sovereignty of the South Island. A British warship was immediately dispatched to exert British jurisdiction over the area.
We stopped at a very nice cafe in the small settlement of Little River for lunch. In its heyday, around 2000 people lived there cutting timber but the population gradually declined over the years. A railway branch into Little River was opened in March 1886, was closed to passengers in April 1951, and closed to al traffic in 1962. Between 1927 and 1934, Little River railway passengers were served by an experimental and popular Edison Battery Electric Railcar, the only one of its type to be built.
Akaroa is located in the flooded caldera of a large ancient volcano. We found a tourist road that took us around the rim of the old volcano and, of course, we went off to explore what it might offer. We drove for around sixteen kilometres along a narrow winding road and through quite spectacular scenery before reaching the town which is located right on the water’s edge.
Tomorrow, we have all day to explore the town of Akaroa and its historic buildings.
Wow! Great start, BnJ. What a busy first day! Best wishes for your figure of eight trip. T
Enjoy, now I understand how Jill had til mid afternoon for getting ready😉 that was a late flight? Bravo for getting all the disabled bits which seemed easy. Looking forward to the rest of the journey.