The final leg of our New Zealand journey! We actually stopped in Christchurch to do a few things, but didn’t stay there. Instead we continued on to the Ataahua region just southeast of Christchurch. Ataahua means “beautiful” in Maori, and it is definitely a fitting name for the region, as it consisted of beautiful green rolling hills and bright blue coastlines. Our AirBnB was the cutest little country cabin, and contained all sorts of kitschy 50’s-era inspired furniture and appliances.
It was such a nice day we decided to do a photo shoot of our gear. We needed to sell our van in only a couple of weeks, so we thought we should prepare as early as possible. You can see our cozy little cabin in the back.
Here’s a shot from the inside of our van, again for use for our “For Sale” ad. I don’t remember why we had a bunch of clothes pegs along the curtains, but it did add a bit of colour to to place!
A view from the inside of our cabin. You can see how pretty the surrounding countryside was from through the window.
These cautiously inquisitive cows just kept staring at us, but when we approached they ran away.
Nearby our accommnodations there was the cutest little church. Named St. Kentigerns Church, it fitted perfectly within its surroundings.
As small as it was, it still had all the trimmings of a larger place of worship, with pews, stained-glass windows, and other churchy things.
Being in the middle of nowhere, I would guess the church does not receive many visitors, and we had the place to ourselves.
Outside the front gate was covered with a lavish roof. Very picturesque.
Here’s a shot of the road leading to our little cabin in the countryside.
It somewhat reminded me of some areas of the Eastern Townships, with lots of hills (not mountains), and winding roads around lush green farmland.
The following day we headed to the nearby coastal town of Akaroa, which the French had tried to settle during the 19th century. As such the town has become a little piece of France in this corner of New Zealand, with French street names, brasseries and many French restaurants. This is Daly’s Wharf, which doesn’t sound very French to me.
Nothing about this photo yells “French”. Nothing about this photo really yells “New Zealand” either. It’s a pretty picture, nonetheless!
This is the Peninsula War Memorial, located right in the center of town.
Many houses had the most beautiful gardens. One would think they must have some sort of annual “Prettiest Garden in Akaroa” competition.
Everything was in bloom and colourful. The weather definitely helped, and one could feel like they were in Provence.
There was this sign to something called “The Giant’s House”. We didn’t go see it, but apparently it’s a collection of creepy mosaic statues.
Hands down one of the prettiest little towns we visited in New Zealand. The colourful house you see in the background is The Giant’s House.
A shot of Akaroa’s “French” coastline.
This is the end of the main wharf in Akaroa. The water had a beautiful turquoise colour to it, but nowhere near as turquoise as what we saw a week earlier during our glacier hikes.
I’m curious to know how different the fish are here than the Mediterranean. How authentic would a Niçoise salad taste in Akaroa?
After Akaroa, we drove around the surrounding countryside on Summit Road, which was a scenic winding road that passed through the Otepatotu Scenic Reserve. Beautiful, stunning views. Again, the incredible weather we had definitely helped!
Behind us there were some rock formations that reminded me of the mountain ranges behind Monaco. So, yes, you could say it did remind us a bit of France!
