We have finally arrived in New Zealand. Hurray. Though the day we landed in Christchurch the temperature was only 12 degrees and the skies overcast. That, combined with the news that December had seen snow, sent a shiver down my spine… However, as with the ominous news of cyclones at Rarotonga, previous perversities with the weather have yet to reoccur. So far - apart from the morning that we landed in Christchurch – the weather has been pretty stunning. Phew.
Doom set in when we arrived in the late afternoon at our first wwoofing place – a lovely, slightly remote and very peaceful native bird sanctuary close to Little River on the Banks Peninsula. It turned out that they were not expecting us (despite the fact that I’d sorted out our stay some way back via email, and then phoned up the week before to say that we’d be arriving late afternoon… tangled lines? Dementia? Who knows). They were happy to let us stay the night in an old campervan/trailer type thing, but after that we were to find other fires to warm our cockles. Twas a bit sad because they weren’t terribly apologetic about it all, and not particularly helpful about helping us find alternative places to stay. So, especially given that we’d be up since 3 o’clock that morning, I was feeling a bit grumpy about our rough arrival.
Anyhow, we headed off to the local pub (The Forsythe Arms I think it was called) for some grub and a bit of an um and ah about what to do next. And the landlord and lady were incredibly sweet. They leafed through our wwoofing book filling us in on all the gossip about the various wwoofers in the area and making some helpful suggestions. They also advised me that, when going into a pub, either ask for a “handle” (500ml) or the smaller version, a “glass”. Useful info. So that cheered me up.
The next morning I spent a long long time ringing round wwoof hosts, but all of them are full at the moment as it’s the summer holidays, and a very popular time to be wwoofing. In the end we decided to give up and live it up for the next week – so as they say, every problem is an opportunity dressed in its work clothes… We headed for Akaroa, and bunked up in a lovely backpackers place called Chez le Mer in Akaroa for a couple of nights. This was a really cosy, homely, clean, well equipped (it even had an in tune piano, fresh herbs for the picking in the garden, and a sharp knife!), well informed, and friendly.
Akaroa itself, along with many other places on the Banks peninsula, is a very kitsch/quaint friendly little place, full of colourful flowers and funky cheerful shops etc. It is also an enclave of French quirks, with French street names, cafes etc and some people speaking French (although the predominant language is still by far English). There’s definitely an effort to retain some French identity, even though the French who settled here in the 19th century were quickly usurped by the Brits.
I’ve also had one of my best cinema experiences in Akaroa where I finally got to see “the wind that shakes the barley” at a 16-seater art house cinema. It was practically a personal screening! I’ve yet to find out exactly how the financed such a tiny little cinema.
The landscape and environment on the Banks seems much like the West Coast of Scotland or the Lake District. There’s elderflower just about to flower in the hedgerows, skylarks on the moors, sheep, sheep, sheep… But the similarities make the differences all the more marked. The colour of the sea is a very inviting turquoise (though the large creatures that lurk beneath counterbalance the invitation), and, strangely enough, I’m missing drystone walls from the landscape. Conservationists are trying to hold back the non-indigenous Gorse, but only from the paths to stop it prickeling people – it is not discouraged from growing on moorland where it’s supposed to encourage the regeneration of native species.
Today we’re leaving Akaroa to head up to Kaikora for a spot of whale watching via Hamner Springs where there’s some natural hot springs. Perfect for the rainy weather…
Will post nice pictures later as the tinternet here is sluggish.
Doom set in when we arrived in the late afternoon at our first wwoofing place – a lovely, slightly remote and very peaceful native bird sanctuary close to Little River on the Banks Peninsula. It turned out that they were not expecting us (despite the fact that I’d sorted out our stay some way back via email, and then phoned up the week before to say that we’d be arriving late afternoon… tangled lines? Dementia? Who knows). They were happy to let us stay the night in an old campervan/trailer type thing, but after that we were to find other fires to warm our cockles. Twas a bit sad because they weren’t terribly apologetic about it all, and not particularly helpful about helping us find alternative places to stay. So, especially given that we’d be up since 3 o’clock that morning, I was feeling a bit grumpy about our rough arrival.
Anyhow, we headed off to the local pub (The Forsythe Arms I think it was called) for some grub and a bit of an um and ah about what to do next. And the landlord and lady were incredibly sweet. They leafed through our wwoofing book filling us in on all the gossip about the various wwoofers in the area and making some helpful suggestions. They also advised me that, when going into a pub, either ask for a “handle” (500ml) or the smaller version, a “glass”. Useful info. So that cheered me up.
The next morning I spent a long long time ringing round wwoof hosts, but all of them are full at the moment as it’s the summer holidays, and a very popular time to be wwoofing. In the end we decided to give up and live it up for the next week – so as they say, every problem is an opportunity dressed in its work clothes… We headed for Akaroa, and bunked up in a lovely backpackers place called Chez le Mer in Akaroa for a couple of nights. This was a really cosy, homely, clean, well equipped (it even had an in tune piano, fresh herbs for the picking in the garden, and a sharp knife!), well informed, and friendly.
Akaroa itself, along with many other places on the Banks peninsula, is a very kitsch/quaint friendly little place, full of colourful flowers and funky cheerful shops etc. It is also an enclave of French quirks, with French street names, cafes etc and some people speaking French (although the predominant language is still by far English). There’s definitely an effort to retain some French identity, even though the French who settled here in the 19th century were quickly usurped by the Brits.
I’ve also had one of my best cinema experiences in Akaroa where I finally got to see “the wind that shakes the barley” at a 16-seater art house cinema. It was practically a personal screening! I’ve yet to find out exactly how the financed such a tiny little cinema.
The landscape and environment on the Banks seems much like the West Coast of Scotland or the Lake District. There’s elderflower just about to flower in the hedgerows, skylarks on the moors, sheep, sheep, sheep… But the similarities make the differences all the more marked. The colour of the sea is a very inviting turquoise (though the large creatures that lurk beneath counterbalance the invitation), and, strangely enough, I’m missing drystone walls from the landscape. Conservationists are trying to hold back the non-indigenous Gorse, but only from the paths to stop it prickeling people – it is not discouraged from growing on moorland where it’s supposed to encourage the regeneration of native species.
Today we’re leaving Akaroa to head up to Kaikora for a spot of whale watching via Hamner Springs where there’s some natural hot springs. Perfect for the rainy weather…
Will post nice pictures later as the tinternet here is sluggish.
4 comments:
Hi Roz
Glad you made it safely across the dateline - could have been a tricky Dr Who moment. . .
It all seems a tad unreal - the pictures and the hibiscus, as I look out of my front window at the spindrift and snow.
If you encounter a slightly mad (he won't mind) teacher/hosteller called John when you reach Taupo, say CB says hi.
18th Jan next week - the magic date when it gets light enough to get up early (er) and pad around the village in daylight till all hours - but then darkness won't be in the forefront of your day.
Keep on truckiing, blogging and wwooofing.
Love, CB@ullapud.
Hey,
Hope you get as lucky as we did in Kaikora, we saw 8 whales when we were there. Also look out for the albatrosses they're huge and its amazing to see them out at sea gliding around!
Verity x
hello there
good to hear you're all alive and well, can't believe that wooffer person doh....
ho hum id forgotton that i was a wee bit jealous of you all and sat down to do some work thought id check my emails first then found an email from tony with your blog address and now im all distracted and feel like i cant do any work and its nearly lunchtime anyway...!
glad you're having a good time, look forward to your next installment!
bye, love sally
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