As we only have just over two weeks in New Zealand we flew from Wellington (North Island) to Christchurch (South Island) rather than taking the ferry across the Cook Strait to Picton. We landed in Christchurch at 9 am and once we had picked up the hire car we made a spur of the moment decision to drive the 1.5 hours to Akaroa. Wow… what a drive! We had never heard of Akaroa, had done no research and was kind of expecting to while away a few hours in a seaside town maybe resembling Cromer…
The road out of Christchurch was easy to drive, relatively long and straight and (compared with UK roads) was not exactly busy. Akaroa is located on a peninsular and as we drove towards the town the roads became more twisty and scenic. The above picture shows typical peninsular scenery.
Above is Akaroa, nestled between the mountains and the sea. People often stay for several days as there are many activities such as walking and boat trips. It is possible to see penguins from Akaroa but only as part of an organised boat trip.
Upon leaving the town of Akaroa we drove along the scenic tourist road, high in the clouds and along the ridge (above). From the highest points we could see all four sides of the peninsular… the views were stunning…
frombluetogreen.com 
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