I was not planning on providing another Christchurch area update until a later date, but I was so impressed with Banks Peninsula I wanted to share the experience. I think the beauty of the landscapes and seascapes in this area are awe-mazing. A short drive from the city centre of Christchurch, south southeast is the Banks Peninsula. It is an area of volcanic origin that rises above the Canterbury plains. Its larger harbors are the result of more dominant volcanic craters and is known as the most prominent volcanic area of New Zealand’s South Island according to Wikipedia (picture borrowed from Wikipedia).
What remains is stunning beauty with bays that extend from the center of the peninsula like fingers, descending down the sloping mountains with various tones of emerald, aqua, green and turquoise bays of the Pacific Ocean. There are many beaches, vast and small, some in total solitude. We visited most of these bays which involved two lane roads (roads that were probably cowpaths at one time and often times only one car wide). One of our favorites was OKains Bay!
We spent a day and evening in Akaroa at the Grand Hotel…the original hotel built in the later 1800s. There is a small cottage beside the hotel that was built for the the owner/builder of the hotel. The cottage has been repurchased by the current owners and has some interesting decor to say the least. During our visit to the hotel we met Jude who served us dinner, provided some great travel advice and shared books and stories about the 2011 quake. She shared the fact that most of Christchurch’s City Centre was blocked off from the public for over one year while the destruction was cleared by 1,000’s of police, fire, search and rescue, and military personnel from all over the world. She told us about the war memorial next to the hotel that collapsed that has since been rebuilt. There are several other places to stay on the peninsula ranging from campsites to B&Bs to working farms, but we were only in the area one night.
There are many areas on the peninsula to hike, from overnight treks to short hikes with incredible views. On day one, we chose Otepatotu Scenic Reserve that overlooks O’Kain Bay and Le Bons Bay. The hike climbs through a remnant of mountain tōtara forest to reach the summit of Lavericks Peak (755 m). The forest here is covered with moss creating an interesting mystique appropriate to the loose translation of the name Otepatotu, ‘place of the fairies’. New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) has some terrific info on hikes around Banks Peninsula and of course across New Zealand.
On day two, we once again had beautiful views of Akaroa Bay. We then moved “counterclockwise” down to Le Bons bay. Most of these bays seem to have a small school, one town even having what looked like an old one room library.
We then traveled counterclockwise again to Pigeon Bay. We hiked out along this bay toward the Pacific, passing a few cows as we shared their cowpath. Tracey was a bit concerned with the oncoming cows but they always yielded to us.
Leaving Pigeon Bay we took an unpaved and often steep 20km road to Port Levy Bay. We did not pass one other vehicle, which was a positive since their was no room to pass. We did pass by some stunning views of the nearby hills (locals have told me these are “hills”, the “mountains” are the alps to the west)…but I guess it’s all relative. Where we lived in the “Hillview” area of Sarasota, we where at one of the highest points in the city at 20 feet above sea level!
To our relief, and I am sure to the relief of the car, we picked up some paved road and continued, again counterclockwise to Diamond Harbour. Diamond Harbour was more populated, probably with more sailboats and dinghies than people! This eventually led us back to Governors Bay where we had dined the night before at the restaurant of Governors Bay Hotel, back over Dyers Pass and back to our humble abode in Christchurch City Center.
A definite worthwhile trip if in the Christchurch area for a couple days. Awesome view after awesome view!
A few more pics below!
