Day 38: Akaroa

After our very busy day yesterday, I would have been happy having a slower day in Akaroa, but that was not to be. Instead, we had the best, most active day, one that had us climbing up and down the mountain sides of the Banks Peninsula around Akaroa. 

We had another uninspiring morning, weather-wise. I think we’re getting used to waking up to low hanging clouds, fog and dreariness, but today it was G who was out and about early. Apparently, some smoke and sparks coming from equipment in the International Cafe tripped an alarm about 5am, and Captan D broadcast into the cabins, requesting an emergency team response. We take these sorts of announcements a bit more seriously than we might have PN (pre-Nice)...at least, I would have, if I had heard it. When I fell asleep last night while G was still watching TV, I used ear plugs that successfully blocked not just the TV but also the emergency announcement this morning. I was oblivious to all of it. 

But that was it for G’s sleep, and he had breakfast in the Horizon Court Buffet and then, as soon as the tenders began this morning, went ashore to check out the tour opportunities available on the pier. Meanwhile, I slept until about 8:15am and stayed in touch with him using local cell service while I had breakfast in the Buffet. The morning still didn’t look promising, but when I tendered over to meet up with G, two small spots of blue sky were visible and we hoped for the best. The weather continued to improve all afternoon. 

Akaroa is a very small town of around 600 residents about a 90-minute drive from Christchurch. Until the devastating Christchurch earthquakes of 2011, cruise ships stopped in Lyttleton instead, but that port was also damaged and only after that did Akaroa become popular as a cruise port. Akaroa Harbor, which means Long Harbor in Maori, is located in a volcano crater, and ships enter from the Pacific Ocean from the collapsed eastern side (much like Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas). The harbor is long and very scenic, surrounded by green mountains on all sides. 

While the original inhabitants of Akaroa and the adjacent Banks Peninsula were the Maori, the English (Captain Cook) beat two Frenchmen to the area by just 6 days in 1770. Still, the Frenchmen were granted permission to stay (how hospitable, considering the English were squatters themselves).  Akaroa still shows signs of French influences, with several French street names. 

While I dawdled this morning, G had arranged for us to take a four hour scenic nature tour with Pohatu Penguins, an ecotourism and conservation organization in Akaroa. At a price of $95 NZD ($65 USD) per person, it sounded appealing but we had no idea of the fantastic day that was ahead of us. Pohatu is a Maori term meaning dark rocks, as the many finger bays are lined with dark rocks and dark sand beaches. 

Link to Pohatu Penguins

With some time before our tour started, we walked around the tiny town of Akaroa and walked over to the Akaroa Lighthouse, which was actually constructed on a head at the entrance to the harbor but, because it is wooden and was in disrepair, was moved into town and restored. 

Akaroa Harbour with the relocated Akaroa Lighthouse

Simple drydock (per G)

At noon we met the other seven people on our tour and our guide, Kevin, and climbed into a 4WD 10-person van. Kevin was a conservationist, a Frenchman himself from Bordeaux, who came to Akaroa as a tourist and, fascinated by the flora and fauna of the area, ended up staying. (A girl might have figured in there somewhere, too). Kevin was also highly entertaining and educational, and our four hours with him passed too quickly. 

The tour also involved a lot of walking over rocky, single track trails on hillsides, and I am very tired tonight, so, in the interest of time, I’m going to cut and paste our tour information from the Pohatu Penguins website.  

This is a scenic 4 WD adventure over one of the highest passes on Banks Peninsula including photo stops. It enables you to experience the spectacular and dramatic scenery from crater rim of ancient Akaroa Volcano to volcanic coastal cliffs and Akaroa heads reserve & Lighthouse. Enjoy the beautiful view over Akaroa Harbour and the endless Pacific Ocean! Conservation projects for protection of penguins can be seen as well as the beautiful red beech forest of Tutakakahikura Scenic Reserve with five species of tree ferns.

• Scenic drive to Pohatu Marine Reserve with photo stops en route
• Penguin monitoring during penguin breeding season
• Walk through the beautiful Tutakahikura Scenic Bush Reserve
• View Bank Peninsula Tree Weta
• Tea, coffee and muffin
• Great variety of native birds
• Photo stop at crater rim
• Visit a working sheep farm
• Scenic drive to Akaroa head reserve and lighthouse

The steepness of the roads, with guide Kevin in the corner

Akaroa Harbour

It is a LONG harbor!

Damon’s Bay and the Pacific Ocean

Damon’s Bay Cave

Love these rolling hills!

They consider the gorse a weed but I think it’s beautiful when it blooms. 

More views of Akaroa Harbor from a different vantage point. 

The Golden Princess at its anchorage

First view of Flea Bay

Grazing cows getting out of our way

Flea Bay, home to the Pohatu Penguin Reserve...

...and sheep ranch. 

Flea Bay Beach

Flea Bay is where the kayak excursions take place

We did, indeed, see blue penguins nesting and baby blue penguins. There are 1250 nesting couples of the blue penguins in the Marine Reserve, about 400 of which nest in specially prepared wooden boxes partially buried in the ground where they can be monitored. Each nest generally has two babies, and they are the cutest, fluffiest fur balls. Each morning, one parent leaves the other parent and the chicks in the nest and goes out to sea to feed and socialize, and then returns to the nest under the safety of darkness around sunset to feed the chicks. The next day, the other parent does the same.

Supplemental anchovy feeding for a slow growing chick

A nest box 

A predator trap

A parent blue penguin and (the backs of) two chicks

Thrill of thrills, we also saw one of the elusive yellow eyed penguins come up from the sea after feeding and climb the steep hillside back to its nest. There are only two or three nesting yellow eyed penguin couples in the area, and seeing one return to the nest in the daytime was an unexpected treat. The yellow eyed penguins are much bigger than the blue penguins and stand about 2.5 feet tall as compared to a foot or less tall.

The endangered yellow-eyed penguin

While we were hiking along a steep hillside above the ocean in Flea Bay to see the nest boxes, two seals were swimming just below us and eventually came up onto some dark rocks to sun themselves. 

Climbing up to the nest boxes was a good workout

Sunning seal

We also saw thousands of sheep and fed sheep and petted sheep and, while I was crossing a narrow wooden bridge over a stream, a large sheep decided it wanted to cross it too, and would have bulldozed me off the side if there hadn’t been a simple wooden railing to cling to. 

We laughed about the variety of manure we had to scrape off our shoes this year. 

Kangaroo, wallaby, koala, sheep and penguin. 

Lots of penguin. 

Beautiful setting. Slightly stinky. ;-)

My favorite lamb

Mid way through the tour, we stopped at a working sheep ranch for afternoon tea and scones and muffins. Sitting in that valley, with the ocean waves crashing on a dark sand beach in one direction and the green mountains dotted with thousands of sheep rising up in the other was about the closest thing to heaven I could imagine. 

Stopping for tea. I wanted to stay there forever. 

We returned to Akaroa and the cruise ship tender pier about 4:30pm, tendered back to the ship and once again raced through showers to get to dinner in the Bernini Dining Room (fruit, salad and a lentil entree).  Fortunately, our dinner table was on the side of the ship toward the Banks Peninsula, so we were able to see the spectacular mountains and bays where we had spent our day while we ate. 

Vocalist Donna Campbell performed at 7:45pm in the Princess Theater. Instead of a Dolly Parton tribute, tonight’s show was a mix of several artists and songs from the 60s and 70s, including the Beatles Song Help, sung the way John Lennon originally intended, as a slow ballad. It gave me chills. 

It was still light when we left the show at 8:30pm. We love cruising in the Southern Hemisphere this time of year!  Two ports down, five more to go. We are early to bed again tonight.