Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Today we're headed for Akaroa Harbor, one of two drowned volcanoes that make up the Banks Peninsula, southeast of Christchurch. European discovery of this area began with Captain Cook, but the French arrived a bit later to establish a colony. The British had already claimed sovereignty, but many French settled in this area and their influence is seen in architecture and names throughout the town.

We took the scenic route over to the coast by Lyttleton Harbor, which serves as the port city for Christchurch. This large harbor was first sighted by Captain Cook in 1770. Also along the way we saw Lake Ellesmere and stopped for a rest in Little River. The scenery was exceptional - rolling hills and sheep farms - incredibly green.

For our tour of the Akaroa Harbor, we boarded the Black Cat, with promises of sea caves, volcanic formation, high cliffs and bird nesting sites. There was all that plus fur seals, little blue penguins, Hector's dolphin and all manner of sea birds - cormorants, black-backed gulls, red-billed gulls, terns, oystercatchers, and more. (http://www.blackcat.co.nz/)

This is the original historic Akaroa lighthouse, initially located just outside the harbor entrance. It now is lit only for special occasions and holidays.

Onuku Marae is the location of an historical Maori village in which one of the oldest churches in the South Island can be found. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed here; this agreement between the British and the Maori tribes is considered the founding document of New Zealand.

Cathedral Cave, a place sacred to the Maoris, was created by rough seas eating into the volcano wall. Numerous sea birds nest here on the cliffs. The cave itself is about 300 feet high, about the same height as Big Ben.

This little bay, known as Nikau Palm Gulley, is the southernmost point at which New Zealand's only native palm grows in its natural habitat.
















Several rocky areas along the harbor provided resting places for the New Zealand Fur Seals. These native seals were almost hunted to extinction in the 1800's, but they now are protected and making a comeback.

The White-Flippered Blue Penguin, or Little Blue Penguin, is among the smallest and rarest of all of the world's penguin species. They are found only in Canterbury, mainly around the Banks Peninsula. They spend most of their day at sea, but they are at great risk to ferrets and cats when on shore.







The star of the show - Hector's dolphin or New Zealand dolphin is a native species and is one of the smallest dolphins in the world. At maturity, they grow to about 4 feet in length, compared to our bottlenose dolphins which grown to about 10 feet. This is one of the world's rarest dolphins, with a total population of only around 7,000.

After the cruise, we adjourned to the local fish and chips shop for what turned out to be some of the best we've had on this trip. We ordered a very interesting combo - fish, fries, corn dog and a drink - what a deal.  What a bizarre combination!

After lunch we wandered the town and checked out the shops. At the local hardware store, we found sheep dog whistles and Wayne bought some for folks to try. It's small gadget, but VERY hard to cause noise to be made. We'll have to keep practicing if we expect any dogs to pay attention.