Last night we decide to treat ourselves to a final NZ dinner out at The Little Bistro in Akaroa and meet Bill and Joan from Christchurch at the table next to us. When Jenn teases them about pinching their bread while their heads are turned, this naturally sparks up a conversation (why not?) and they share with us stories of their travels to eastern Europe, including a few dicey situations in Russia and Bosnia.
"Give us a dingle tomorrow, and if the weather's nice, we'll give you a boat ride around the bay," says Bill only an hour after meeting us. "You can see the Hector's dolphins."
Jenn's turn to squeal.
And so the next morning, it is a little breezy, but the sun is out and we give them a call. (Travel rule #1 — if we're invited to do something and the inviters seem nice and safe enough, we do it!)
"Meet us at the wharf with the little house in Akaroa in a quarter hour," instructs Bill. "We'll be the blue boat with the black dog." Dolphins and now dogs — we're in! We pile on our layers (there is that nip in the air again!) and head down the hill from our campsite to meet them.
The black dog is a poodle named Czesky — the boat, a comfy six seater outboard and minutes after stepping down off the wharf into the boat, we are pounding through the chop, along the big cliffs of the peninsula and straight out towards the Pacific.
The views are once again stunning.
We head from Akaroa Harbour, past the settlement of Onuku and all the way out to Te Ruahine point which is comprised of high cliffs and deep caves holding petrels nesting and resting on the ledges.
Hey, are those dolphins over there? Don't tell Jenn...
From there, it's out into the Pacific and on to Akaroa Head where the old lighthouse once sat.
Then, we sped around the corner to a beautiful inlet, filled with seals and a waterfall at the end.
On our way back into the harbour, we again spot the Hector's dolphins, which are smaller than the Duskys we've seen up in Kaikoura. Bill masterfully eases the boat alongside and they play tag up front by the bow, jumping into the air for us — our own private show!
It's a bumpy ride back through more chop (we get airborne more than once) and then a tour around the other end of the harbour to the small settlements of Wainui, Tikao, French Farm, Robinson's Bay (where their bach is located) past Takamatua and returning to the wharf at
We have quickly come to appreciate the beauty of Banks Peninsula and seeing more of it from the water is SUCH a special treat. Once again, the kindness and welcoming of people overwhelms us.
Oh wait, it's not done...
We stop by Bill and Joan's bach later in the afternoon (they invited us, we promise). Bill is just coming up from setting his flounder nets out in the bay and Joan takes us down to have a look from the beach. It is around 5pm, and the afternoon colours are highlighting the hills to artistic effect. Their bach affords an expansive view of Robinson's Bay and beyond and sitting outside on their deck cloaks us in serenity.
That fall chill is still in the air, so we soon move inside where their oversized windows perfectly frame that can't-get-enough view. We could have a yarn with these two for ages, yet the time flies by and soon the sun is dropping down behind the banks of the Banks. Bill and Joan walk us back up the road to our camper and we wave a fond goodbye. How can we possibly thank these lovely folks enough?
Tonight the clocks turn back giving us an extra hour on our last full day in New Zealand. A small goodbye gift from this wonderful country as it extends itself to us yet again.
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