The Banks Peninsula and Akaroa

I have a dental appointment arranged for Monday afternoon in Christchurch, to get my broken tooth repaired, so I have a few days to do something with before that. I don’t want to go too far from Christchurch, so I decide to take a short look at The Banks Peninsula, which is a chunk of land immediately to the south east of the city. It was formed by volcanic eruption, with the large harbours of Lyttleton and Akaroa being the original craters, surrounded by the hills of the crater edges and smaller bays radiating out to the coastline. The drive out from Christchurch is initially across flat farm land and then the road starts to climb up and twist around hills and then suddenly there is a stunning view of Akaroa harbour laid out below me.

First View of Akaroa Harbour

Akaroa is the main town and is the site of the country’s first French settlement. It is a charming little seaside town and I am seeing it in its best light on this sunny, clear Sunday. I take a walk along the seafront and soak up the atmosphere of families picnicking by the beach; people strolling along the promenade and sitting outside the pavement cafes.

Akaroa

There is still an obvious French influence here, including street, house and cafe names. Even the sign at the petrol station is in French.

French Influence in Akaroa

On the recommendation of my Swiss friend Sarah, who spent some time working on a sheep farm on The Banks Peninsula, I spend the afternoon visiting to a mosaic sculpture garden called ‘The Giant’s House’. It was named by a little girl looking up at the house from the valley below said it was so big a giant must live there. The house was built in 1880 and is now owned by the artist Josie Martin. She created the garden with mosaic sculptures over the last 11 years. I am totally captivated, amused and enthralled by the place and take dozens of photographs. I have tried to be selective about the ones I show here, but there are so many enchanting sites in the garden that I would like to share with you, it is hard to decide which ones to leave out.

The Giant's House

Leaving the garden, I drive a few kilometres out of Akaroa to a sheep farm where I can camp. Here is the view from the back of Josephine.

View from my Camp Site

Tomorrow I have to return to Christchurch, but I would really like to come back to this beautiful area when I have a bit more time, to explore and walk.