Sunday Mar 5, 2023 - Christchurch to Akaroa

Very classy hotel last night. Washer / dryer / dishwasher, the works. I could live here. We walked to the Unknown Charter Coffee Roasters and we ordered porridge, huge steaming bowls, and flat white coffee and chai latte. I am getting to be a regular with ordering coffee, as long as I order the same thing every day.

Today’s mission was to get to the walking trip start place in Akaroa and buy enough food for the three day hike, pack it in with the other clean clothes we will need, leave all the stuff we do not need in the car, and get taken away to the first night hostel place. Maybe cell service and maybe not. Probably electricity, but probably not.

Car was full so OK on gas. The trip down was easy peasey . You leave Christchurch quickly and the road is a straight shot down. 

We got to Akaroa around noon and drove around a bit. We do not have to meet the bus until 5 pm so lots of time. We hit the museum and got the short history film (Bisbee needs one of these). The Maori were here 700 years ago, and then the British and French came to set up a port here in the early 1800’s. The Brits signed agreements with the natives behind the French’s back and the French left after 5-10 years. There was a whaling industry here first but that petered out. Then they harvested all the trees (and still do). Following that they grew a kind of grass here that was so hardy, they started harvesting the seed for sale. As many as 1,500 seasonal workers harvesting grass seed.

Gold was discovered on the island and other mining. Akaroa became a tourist spot because of the mild weather and pretty seaside. And it is still a tourist spot with small cruise ships pulling in now and again.

We split fish and chips for a late lunch, bought a sandwich for dinner and by then it was time to park the car (a mile away from where we met the bus). The parking spot was a crazy steep series of roads and a small grass lot where 6 or 7 cars could fit. I walked back to the other hikers waiting for the bus and we had about 13 people ready to go by 5:30 or so. 

What a fun bunch of people. We were the only Americans, one German woman and the rest are New Zealand folks. The bus dropped us off at the hut way up a twisty ocean view road a half hour later with instructions on what to do tomorrow. This place has electricity and running water, toilets, a shower, and lots of bunk bed rooms so plenty of places for the 13 of us to settle in. Two men are doing the walk in only 2 days, so we have 11 in the main building, with the 2 fast walkers housed in a separate cabin.

Everybody made their own dinner and we all ate and talked until 8:30 or so, then off to bed.