Yellow Fish cruises: Day 89: Akaroa

Our wonderful day today in Akaroa almost (almost) made up for the fact that we had awful weather here in October and missed the port entirely due to wind in November. Today was the best!

I had been closely watching the weather forecast in Akaroa for the past several days, unwilling to make any big plans unless the weather looked a heckuva lot better than the fog we’d had here on our transpacific cruise. Just yesterday, waiting to board the Seasider train in Dunedin, I booked the last two spots available on Pohatu Penguins 4-hour nature tour beginning at noon today. We did this same tour two years ago, and it was a highlight of our entire season. Today was no different.

Akaroa is a tender port, and it’s a difficult tender port, too. It’s a 20-minute tender ride to shore; add loading and unloading time, and each of six tenders can make at most one round trip per hour. Do the math: six tenders, each holding about 90 people, a ship with over 3000 people, and you can see why, when we finally went down to the Michelangelo Dining Room to collect our Elite tender tickets at 11am, there were still a lot of passengers waiting to go ashore. We finally made it there ourselves just before noon.

In the interest of time tonight, and because my iPhone battery is at 7%, I will just copy and paste our tour description directly from the Pohatu Penguins website. This is the description for their 2-hour nature tour:

Come with us on a 4WD safari to the spectacular, award-winning Wild Side Conservation area! Learn about the area’s rich history, native flora and fauna and Pohatu’s unique penguin conservation program. Our Nature Safaris offer stunning views of Akaroa Harbour, the outer coast, farm land and forested hillsides. Be greeted by the farm’s friendly pet sheep and see White-Flippered penguins as we monitor nesting sites. If you’re lucky, you may even get the chance to see some of our rehabilitation efforts such as supplemental feeding. (We did, though we couldn’t take photos of it).

The four hour tour also includes

A visit to the spectacular cliff-tops of Akaroa Heads Lighthouse Reserve.
A visit of the beautiful red beech forest of Tutakakahikura Scenic Reserve. (optional)
More time to see native wildlife and to explore Flea Bay.
Complimentary tea, coffee and home-made baked good

Source: https://www.pohatu.co.nz/Pohatu+Package.html

We met our guide, Sue, at the end of the tender pier, and set off in an 8-person van. Our guide from two years ago, Kevin, had another van with 8 people.

Our first stop, overlooking Akaroa (Maori for Long Harbor) Harbour

The Ruby Princess at anchor in Akaroa Harbour

A higher view of Akaroa Harbour

Kevin pointing out the various kinds of grasses that cover the hillsides for grazing

Our first view of Haylocks Bay on the Banks Peninsula

Walking out to see the Akaroa Head lighthouse

Hole in the Wall, Haylocks Bay

Looking north toward Damons and Flea Bays

Sheep chillaxing near Haylocks Bay

Damons Bay

Driving down to Flea Bay

Flea Bay Beach

G feeding Romney sheep

Farmhouse of conservationist Shireen who owns and operates Pohatu Penguins

Swimming lessons for a baby blue penguin undergoing rehabilitation after being abandoned

by its parents

Nesting blue penguin and babies

Mom, another clothesline pic ;-)

The 4WD road to Flea Bay

Driving back to Akaroa

We arrived back on the Ruby Princess just before 5pm, did a very quick clean up, set our goose-, duck-, sheep- and penguin-poop covered shoes on a bag in the bathroom and went to dinner. We had a light tea on the tour (with delicious banana bread), but were starving.

Day 10 dinner menu, page 1

Day 10 dinner menu, page 2

Day 10 dessert menu

We finished dinner in time to watch from the Promenade Deck as the Ruby Princess sailed out of Akaroa Harbour. We were able to see from the water the Banks Peninsula bays we had visited today on land.

We went to the 7:30pm Princess Theater performance by New Zealand singer Russel Harrison. He sang R&B and Motown and was excellent.

On this first day of summer, it was light until after 10pm. And we continue to cruise north, the days will be getting shorter, but we have certainly enjoyed being down here at this time of year.