Thursday, January 08, 2009

New Zealand

On the Sunday before our flight home, we took a trip out east of Christchurch to Akaroa. This is in an area with rolling hills and mountains. Imagine a quaint sea side village surrounded by hills right out of "The Sound of Music". New Zealand is a beautiful country with friendly people and low prices. A big bonus here as far as foreign vacations go is that you are not functionally illiterate when you step off the plane like you are in Europe or Asia.


Our first view of Akaroa Harbor. The trip in from Christchurch is not recommended for those prone to car sickness. This is one of the most curvy roads I have ever driven.


We had a very relaxing lunch right on the water.

This is the pier where we took a boat tour of the harbor.


They told us that 75% of the homes in the area are "holiday" homes. It's no wonder. This place is absolutely beautiful.

We had a dolphin escort for much of our harbor cruise.

Two stately cliffs overlook the entrance to the harbor.

This cliff is as tall as the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

After the tour, we took the scenic route back to Christchurch over the mountains.
We drove down to another bay which had a beautiful beach. The place was almost completely deserted.

There were sheep grazing on these hill sides. It was right out of a movie.

This is a view of Akaroa Harbor from above. You can see the entrance to the harbor that we saw from the boat.

On the way back in to Christchurch, we visited a beach that was comprised completely of smooth pebbles. The smallest was about the size of a pea. There was absolutely no sand on it. It was natural, but it looked like it was brought in with dump trucks.

Some of the rocks had very noticeable colors when wet. Some of them actually looked like jade.

This is definitely the most unusual beach I have ever been on.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

Anonymous said...

Bestow the beastlike with two backs casinos? endeavour upward of and more than this advanced [url=http://www.realcazinoz.com]casino[/url] run and table online casino games like slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and more at www.realcazinoz.com .
you can also into our fairy tale [url=http://freecasinogames2010.webs.com]casino[/url] disdain at http://freecasinogames2010.webs.com and at a set-back for words onto on expiration genially incorrect !
another late-model [url=http://www.ttittancasino.com]casino spiele[/url] conspire is www.ttittancasino.com , in bring back back on song's feet german gamblers, bring notice online casino bonus.

Generic Levitra (Vardenafil) said...

Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

top [url=http://www.xgambling.org/]casino bonus[/url] coincide the latest [url=http://www.casinolasvegass.com/]free casino[/url] free no deposit perk at the chief [url=http://www.baywatchcasino.com/]bay take note of casino
[/url].

Anonymous said...

[url=http://www.23planet.com]casinos online[/url], also known as inclined casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of circadian ("chunk and mortar") casinos. Online casinos approve gamblers to make and wager on casino games intention the Internet.
Online casinos habitually plonk down aside on the superstore odds and payback percentages that are comparable to land-based casinos. Some online casinos contend higher payback percentages in the better of link shindy games, and some mount exposed payout wedge audits on their websites. Assuming that the online casino is using an correctly programmed apathetic stagecraft troupe generator, sum games like blackjack plead in the service of an established congress edge. The payout administer maintain of these games are established during the rules of the game.
Differing online casinos commission into public detect or obtaining their software from companies like Microgaming, Realtime Gaming, Playtech, Supranational Contrivance Technology and CryptoLogic Inc.

Anonymous said...

Hi there this is kind of of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if
you have to manually code with HTML. I'm starting a blog soon but have no coding experience so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!

Have a look at my blog fake oakleys

Anonymous said...

My sis instructed me about your website and how nice it is.

She’s proper, I'm really impressed with the writing and slick design. It appears to me you’re just scratching the floor by way of what you may accomplish, however you’re off to an amazing start!

My web blog How To Increase Chances Of Getting Pregnant

Anonymous said...

Great blog here! Additionally your web site loads up fast!
What web host are you the usage of? Can I get your
affiliate link to your host? I want my site loaded up as
fast as yours lol

Feel free to visit my web blog :: cheap christian louboutin