9: Akaroa Harbour Heads

The Akaroa Harbour Heads as seen from the road to Wainui Bay.

On the way back to Christchurch I took a wee tiki-tour, and was rewarded for taking a diversion to Wainui Bay with this spectacular view of the heads of Akaroa Harbour.

Taken 11:58am 9.01.2011;    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Shutter: 1/1000    Aperture: f/4.0      Focal length: 7.28mm      ISO: 80

The French presence

After visiting Onuku I headed back to Akaroa -still before the heat of the day and the later rush of fellow tourists -to see a little more of the French connection.

My first stop en route back to town, was to the Catholic part of the Akaroa cemetery. I had visited here once before, as one of my great-uncles married a woman who hailed from here, and I had previously found her parents' headstone. Her father was named François, so I have presumed he is quite possibly French.

I was very surprised by what I saw in the cemetery. Akaroa is not all that close to Darfield where the recent huge earthquake was centred, and I wasn't expecting to find a damaged headstone. But there was in fact considerable damage to the headstone I was seeking, and to many others in the cemetery.

 

Yes, maybe this is a bit of a cliché shot, with the agapanthus flowers in front of the harbour view- but I am sure you don't mind seeing another pic of this beautiful harbour.

On the outskirts of Akaroa, near the coastline, is the 'Britomart' memorial, and it commemorates the raising of the British flag here in Akaroa.

The British flag was raised here on 11 August 1840, just days before the arrival of the French ship, L'Aube, carrying the first French settlers to the South Island.

 

In the centre of the Akaroa township, a different flag flies near the place where it is believed that the first French settlers came ashore.  Here the French are celebrated.

Whatever political power ploys were in action in 1840, today Akaroa is proud of the French part of its heritage.

(You can read more about the French colonists in Akaroa here.)

Onuku

I used all my Camino-skills to rise from my tent in the camping ground quietly yet early, and was on the road towards Onuku, with its marae and church, before 7.30am. Onuku lies about 5km from Akaroa, and it was set aside as a Maori reserve in 1856, following the confiscation of much of the land around Akaroa harbour from Maori.

This is the marae building at Onuku. As a visitor, I would have needed to be invited onto the marae to go any closer: this photo was taken from the gate.

Just past the marae, you come to this historic church, opened in 1878 as a non-denominational place of worship.

 

 This is part of a carving that stands outside on the lawn, outside the church doors.

This simple but beautifully carved altar sits inside the church, and an inscription at its base says it was presented by Sir Heaton Rhodes in 1940. On top of it sat a thank you gift from some children to the marae- a card with some shells.

The windows of the church gave views to the harbour outdoors.

And the morning sunlight came in through the windows to cast gentle light over the pews.

And just to finish, a more mundane theme... On the shore side of the road stood this shed- and you might have noticed I tend to take photos of some of these old buildings.

And to end this post: a close-up of the door lock.

Arrival in Akaroa

Given the weather I had encountered on the Summit Road, I wasn't expecting to have pleasant conditions for walking when I arrived in Akaroa. But the weather can change quickly on Banks Peninsula. I arrived at the camping ground- so crowded and regimented after the more relaxed camping ground at Okains Bay!- and found that by the time I had set up my tent, the temperature had definitely warmed up. So I headed steeply downhill via the local walkway into the township, (knowing I was going to have to climb all the way back up later...)

I had visited Akaroa once quite a few years before, and remember being enchanted by its village atmosphere, and by finding little surprises from the days of the early French settlers all over the place. But this time I was struck more by the brash tourist nature of the place, and didn't fall in love immediately. (Perhaps last time my first walk was in the quiet of the morning, a better time to quietly appreciate such things.) However, I soon began finding some 'treasures'. There was this old house with some quirky 'sculptures' on the side.
 

And the Catholic Church, much of it dating back to 1865- very old by New Zealand standards!- was a very peaceful, prayerful oasis of cool and quiet.

I did enjoy seeing the wide range of signs with French names on them all over Akaroa, but this large modern sign outside the petrol station was arguably the most impressive one of all.

There were still many houses that clearly dated back to colonial times.

I was feeling very hot and hungry after a few hours of wandering around the township, but couldn't quite bring myself to eat in a trendy tourist eatery. I was pleased then to find that the 'local' hotel had a family bar and restaurant area, and I had a long cool drink with lots of ice, then ate an excellent meal there.  

 

And finally, replete after that meal, I had to climb slowly back up the hill to the camping ground- noticing the bland, modern 'gendarmerie' building as I passed. 

8: Akaroa

Street sign in Akaroa 

Akaroa is one of the towns in New Zealand that most clearly shows our colonial history, with its many reminders that we very nearly became a French-speaking colony.

Taken 5.07pm 8.01.2011;       Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Shutter: 1/320     Aperture: f/4.0      Focal length: 12.61mm     ISO: 80

Le Bons Bay & Hinewai Reserve

After several days being cocooned at Okains Bay, I was leaving to climb back up to the Summit Rd, and do some exploring en route to Akaroa. The weather this last morning at Okains was a bit cooler, but you can never really tell what weather changes might be coming when you are nestled down low in the valley.

When I arrived up the top onto the Summit Rd, I found there was indeed quite a cool southerly raging, and I quickly had to add some more layers of clothing. But that wasn't going to stop me exploring.

My first deviation was down into Le Bons Bay, a very similar bay to Okains Bay, but there is no camping ground there. The geological history of the rocks seems to jump out at you as you walk onto the beach- and you can easily imagine past volcanic eruptions. As I headed back up the valley, I bought a bag from the village store, which was helping to raise funds for efforts to trap predators of the local white flippered penguins. Le Bons Bay School are actively involved as an EnviroSchool. A lot of the buildings in the bays in this part of Banks Peninsula seem to tell a story of the colonial past, so it was a surprise when I came upon a small, more recent Anglican church in the village.

 Further up the valley, I headed down a side road to see some art by a Dutch couple who have emigrated. Saskia van Voorn has made some exquisite prints of the local area using a woodblock printing technique.

 When I reached the Summit Rd again, I was back into the raging southerly. My friend had told me to go and visit Hinewai, a reserve funded by a Trust.

 The native bush is being allowed to regenerate in this reserve, by natural methods. Trees are being spread over what was farmland by birds dropping seeds.

 There is gorse in this area that is not being eradicated. It acts as a nursery for native seedlings, that eventually outstrip it, and the gorse dies off. 

 My Camino buddies might be interested to know there is a problem here also with tissues being dropped (though perhaps not of the toilet kind.) Maybe if gorse was grown like this along the Camino trails, it might dissuade the pilgs from dropping tissue waste indiscriminately...

 The view down into the nearby bay was beautiful, and you can see quite clear lines between the farmland and the regenerated bush areas. I finished my quick look at the reserve with a climb up Mikimiki Knob, where there were many species of divaricating plants, that were growing low down close to the rocks and substrate. Given the almost alpine conditions this day, it was easy to imagine such a growth form was an advantage against exposure to some strong coastal winds.

Okains- Morning 4- the top of the hill

Bit shocking really that it took until the fourth morning in camp before I finally climbed the 'Big Hill'. But this morning when I peeked out at the beach, it was great to see that the mist had cleared.

Here is the view from near the top of the hill, looking back at the other bays I have passed through. Okains Bay camping ground is nestled in the pine trees in the third bay along.

When I reached the top of this hill in 2008 I had fun taking photos of a 'solo' tree up here, and I was keen to see if it still stood. And it did...

On the way down again, I could see everything clearly: the mist was well gone.  Here is a view of the islands the seabirds nest on from above...

...and here is a view of the same islands at sea level in Little Okains Bay, the first bay along.

Now, I know you might all be thinking this trip is a bit of a 'solo effort' as you see no people in my shots. That's pretty general with my blogging- for privacy reasons.  I was sharing the camping ground with a few friends though, and here are a few camping scenes.

I did tend to rise before most of my friends, and by the time I got back from  my morning walks, breakfast would be served....

Okains Bay is a lovely camping ground where you spread out and find your own spots under pine trees. Not all square and confined.

The young lady of our party was about to commandeer this hammock for some relaxed holiday reading.

And here is some of our swimming gear drying off for the next swim. I was the North Island Wimp of the party- moaning about the cold South Island water, but I did get in once or twice....

7: Walking in the morning

Tree on farmland a few bays over from Okains Bay

When I camped at Okains Bay with friends in 2008, I was 'training' for my April start on the Camino, and was keen to keep finding hills to climb, even on holiday. One route I took several times that January was across to Little Okains Bay, on to the next bay, then up onto the farmland nearby. This year, mist covered the hills for two mornings, but this morning dawned clearer, and I reached the farmland. It was a steeper and tougher climb than I remembered, so I had obviously already built up my fitness back in 2008! The sun was still quite low in the sky, and cloud dimmed the landscape. Ten minutes after I had descended the steepest part of the climb, the sun broke through above the cloud, and this scene would have been very well-lit. But I wasn't fit enough this year to want to climb all over again for the sake of a brighter photo!

Taken 7:58am 7.01.2011;   Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Shutter: 1/500     Aperture: f/4.0      Focal length: 6.98mm     ISO: 80

Okains: two misty days, then glorious sunset

Last time I was at Okains Bay - three years ago in 2008- I was keen to climb hills as part of my Camino training. No such compulsion existed this time, so when the next two mornings dawned with thick mist covering the tops of the hills, I was happy enough to shorten my morning walks!

 When I was walking along the Old Wharf track, I had seen a tern diving repeatedly for food, then disappearing. Chances are it was nesting on the lower of these two islands, where many seabirds could be seen, safe at a distance from interfering humans.

 By later in the afternoon of the second day, blue skies had returned, and soon people were taking advantage of the surf and the estuary, swimming or paddling, or with kayaks and boards of varying kinds.

After dinner at the campsite, we were all slipping into relaxed laziness, when someone came to say there was a cruise ship passing the bay. This we had to see!

It was just as well we had been roused from a lazy state, as there was another glorious sunset to be seen this evening.

This little boy seemed to be enjoying the colours in the sky as he ran out several times to the surf.

And the colours over the hills were quite spectacular.

But the most glorious colours were seen where the sun set in the west, inland from the camp.

6: Estuary at low tide

A family enjoying the estuary at Okains at low tide 

Each day the estuary at Okains Bay emptied and filled as the tides changed between low and high. If you timed your swimming well, you could enjoy slightly warmer water as the estuary emptied out to the sea, its water warmed while it covered the flat estuary sands. During tidal changes, the currents could be quite strong in the river, and water levels changed quickly. But there was always a time when the low tide provided a perfect play place in the river for families with young children, while deeper pools also remained for more confident swimmers.

Taken 3:41pm 6.01.2011;    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Shutter: 1/800      Aperture: f/4.0     Focal length: 8.52mm      ISO: 80

5: Misty Coast

Coastline seen en route to Little Okains Bay, on a misty morning

Near the entrance to the Okains Bay camping ground there is a route that leads you off uphill towards the next bay along, Little Okains Bay. The third and fourth days at Okains dawned with clouds hiding the tops of nearby hills. The two little islands seen here are home for some seabirds, including terns that can often be seen diving into the seawater for food in the bay.

Taken 9:18am 5.01.2011;    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Shutter: 1/200     Aperture: f/4.0     Focal length: 5mm     ISO: 80

4: Okains Walk

Farm barn seen on the road to Okains Bay

 

When the tide was out, you could do a circuit by walking up the river estuary, visiting the Okains Bay settlement, then returning to the campground via the road. There were various old buildings to see along the way, as well as an interesting museum. This barn stood in the midst of farmland, easily visible from the road. 

Taken 12:28pm 4.01.2011;    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Shutter: 1/250     Aperture: f/4.5      Focal length:23.04mm     ISO: 80