Description
A day tour to Akaroa, the only settlement attempted by the French in New Zealand, passes through the beautiful landscapes of the Banks Peninsula. This region was formed following violent eruptions of volcanoes over 6 million years ago and the picturesque town of Akaroa itself sits in an ancient volcanic crater.
You will travel to Akaroa NZ over the beautiful Banks Peninsula on a high summit route which gives glorious views of farmlands, Akaroa Harbour, the Canterbury Plains and the distant Southern Alps as well as remote bays indenting the coastline.
You have an opportunity to wander around the charming 175 year old French harbour side village of Akaroa with it’s museum of settlers’ history, art and craft shops and studios before enjoying lunch . If it’s shopping for the unique Blue Pearls, merino/mink garments, a nature cruise, jet skiing, jet boating or a simple picnic high above the harbour Canterbury Trails can tailor make a special day for you. We can take you hiking or wine tasting, the day is yours to enjoy.
On the journey back to Christchurch we visit the Cheese Factory at Barry’s Bay, the only one remaining on the peninsula from a bygone era, the Little River Art gallery and if time permits Vince’s Gem Stone Museum.
canty1 –
My wife and our two daughters took a personalized tour of Akaroa today from Canterbury Trails. The owner, Irene Hayward, picked us up at our hotel in Christchurch at 8AM in the morning, and returned us back to our hotel at 5:30PM. In the interim, we traveled in a spacious van 75 kilometers from Christchurch to Akaroa and back. This is a very scenic drive encompassing the Canterbury Plain, the Banks Pensinsua, the heights of the Akaroa Volcano, and the roads along the shore of Akaroa Harbor. We also had a brief view of Lyttlelton Harbor from high above the water. During the trip, Irene kept up a constant patter of New Zealand and local history, and explained and answered questions regarding everything along the way and back. In Akaroa, we took a two hour morning harbor cruise and dolphin boat tour, and also had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Akaroa harbor. We did a little bit of shopping in Akaroa, including a stop at the Woolshed at 7 Church St where we bought several merino mink sweaters. All in all, a great day.
Canterbury Trails has a half dozen of these vans, and offers personalized tours of everything that can reached from Christchurch by road. They will set up one day tours such as the one we took, and also offer up to a 14 day tour.
Visited April 2015