Breathtaking!
We didn't dock today, we had to use the lifeboats as "tenders" to get us to shore. It was a pretty neat experience!
Visiting Akoroa was a little like visiting Leland, or another cute town on Lake Michigan. It's a fairly small town about an hour and a half from Christchurch. Because of the 2 earthquakes that hit Christchurch in 2010 and 2011, we were unable to dock there. Lots of people took excursions to Christchurch today. We opted to walk around town.
Along the beach road
We started out along the beach road and took a path up to a park that we hoped would have a playground for the kids. It wound up being a playground for sheep! It was a pretty steep climb and we had to walk through lots of "sheep poo" to get to the top of the hill, but we were rewarded with stunning views all around! We even got to see some of the sheep and hear them calling out to M while we were there.
It was like this pretty much the whole climb. C kept asking if we could go back.
We came back down through an adorable neighborhood with beautiful gardens. I don't know what it is about New Zealand, but the colors here are so vibrant! It's like being In a fantasy land! No wonder they chose this place to film "The Lord of the Rings!" It's also important to note that the air is so fresh and clean. I found myself taking huge gulps all day.
This girl has a photographic eye - she asked me to stop and take this picture!
Once we made it back down near the water we ended up finding a playground. The kids were so happy to get to play, even if it was just for 20 minutes. It was nice to see them able to work out some of the excess energy they've had.
The view from the park wasn't bad either!
You can see our ship far out in the center of the photo.
We had fish & chips again for lunch. It's hard to turn that down! We marveled at the beautiful scenery a little more, picked up some souvenirs, and headed back to the ship for a swim before dinner.
Tonight was a formal night in the dining room, and we had planned to hit the buffet, but Joel convinced us that what we had brought would be fine to wear, so we came in khakis and button down shirts for the boys, and dresses for the girls. It was worth it! When we got to our table, there were Happy New Year hats and noisemakers for all of us! Our menu choices included blue cheese soufflé (good, but strong!), wild berry soup (the kids LOVED this), Beef Wellington and lobster tail. Whew! What a dinner! The kids were happy to toot their horns and make noise with their spinners every few minutes. We saw the last few minutes of the show (a tenor), then went outside for more noise making. M suggested we check out the hot glass show (yay!), which was a great choice as the audience was small so we had great seats! We aren't planning to stay up until Midnight tonight. The kids are already asleep. It's tempting to take advantage of being among the first on earth to welcome the new year, but we have to meet in the theater for our excursion at 8:15 tomorrow morning, and we're going to be gone all day.
Happy New Year to all of you! We're having such a great time on this trip!
Post Script: A bird pooped on me today. Yes. It was more than unfortunate. The last time this happened to me was also on a vacation - what gives?!?!?
B and M:
ReplyDeleteYour experiences remind me of some Martha and I have had with our family. They are great. NZ is a fabulous place to visit. We have been on both the North and South Island for some extended times. I taught at the South Pacific Bible College in Tarauanga, NZ ( North Island) for over a month. What New Year celebration are you talking about??