Banks Peninsula and Christchurch

We still had another day before we were heading towards Christchurch so we cruised along the Banks Peninsula with its Summit Road. I bet it is an awesome view but it was so foggy that we were happy to see our front mirrors.

At Akaroa we got a bit of French spirit since the small town was founded by French settlers. The ambience was relaxed and charming but even here you could see the impact of the big earthquake in 2011.

Time was running fast and our time in New Zealand came to an end. Fortunately the last 2 days we could stay at Kate’s parents and we really enjoyed it. They have a beautiful house nicely set in the landscape, surrounded by bushes.

Ceri’s cooking was fantastic and good that we only stayed two days otherwise we would have gone fat. Would have been bad for our bikini time in Fiji. One evening we even relaxed in their whirlpool with a glass of wine. The next morning Ceri and I went for a walk with the two dogs before we got ready for packing.

Half a day we spent in Christchurch but the center is completely closed due to the earthquake damage. What a shame for all the old, beautiful buildings. We had quite a hard time to find a bank where we could change some Fiji Dollars. In the center there are only banks left in containers and they do not have any currencies.

So in the middle of the night – 3 o’clock – we got ready to drive to the airport. Great that we could keep the campervan till the end and just drop it off at the airport. Now we are ready for Fiji!