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Noyelles Travels 2017
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Location Date Oceania 
1510963200 Europe 1495839600 South America 1491951600 North America 1490569200 -
Location Date New South Wales 1510963200 Samoa 1489708800 Fiji 1489536000 New Zealand
1489276800 Victoria 1488240000 South Australia 1488067200 Western Australia 1487635200 -
Location Date Auckland 1489276800 Tauranga 1489190400 Wellington 1489017600 Akaroa
1488931200 Milford Sound 1488844800 Dunedin 1488844800
Wednesday 8th March
The ship had moved north to Akaroa in the night & was in the passage by about 7.30am. We had breakfast & plenty of time to catch up, as there were only 2 tenders to ferry passengers the 2 km to shore. We landed at the jetty in Akaroa at about 10.30 & as is our wont, set off to find a cafe for the compulsory coffee & wi-fi. As yesterday, it was quite cold & overcast although the wind was much less troublesome. We had rugged up once again so could cope with the light showers that came & went.
Akaroa is a tiny town on a peninsula about 60 km from Christchurch, set in hills coming down to the water in what is apparently the centre of an ancient extinct volcano. It was settled by Maoris from the North Island & then in the 1840s by a group from France & later from the UK. Much of the signage is in French in recognition of the early settlers. It has morphed from a timber milling, farming & fishing town to concentrating on tourism for is sustenance & it does it very well.
We had our 'fix' & then wandered along the sea front road to inspect the shops, even stopping to buy the odd item. Just back from the front we went into the loveliest Anglican Church, completely built of timber, with some fine stained glass windows. From there we walked back to the Catholic Church further down the road which was interesting but inferior to its C of E counterpart.
Having given it a good shake we retired to yet another cafe before we returned to the jetty & in true Pommy style joined a big queue to get a tender back to the ship. Our patience was rewarded when we caught the second tender & returned to our watery home.
d*** rose to the 13th deck to have some afternoon tea, to prevent him fading away but Jane, who is of sterner stuff, was an abstainer. Meanwhile the sun had come out & the vision was indeed splendid.
After dinner d*** went to see a singer, harpist in the theatre while Jane went to a film. After that he went on to a display of Maori singing & dancing which was excellent & included them teaching the Haca, a Maori war dance, to some of the men in the audience.
The ship had moved north to Akaroa in the night & was in the passage by about 7.30am. We had breakfast & plenty of time to catch up, as there were only 2 tenders to ferry passengers the 2 km to shore. We landed at the jetty in Akaroa at about 10.30 & as is our wont, set off to find a cafe for the compulsory coffee & wi-fi. As yesterday, it was quite cold & overcast although the wind was much less troublesome. We had rugged up once again so could cope with the light showers that came & went.
Akaroa is a tiny town on a peninsula about 60 km from Christchurch, set in hills coming down to the water in what is apparently the centre of an ancient extinct volcano. It was settled by Maoris from the North Island & then in the 1840s by a group from France & later from the UK. Much of the signage is in French in recognition of the early settlers. It has morphed from a timber milling, farming & fishing town to concentrating on tourism for is sustenance & it does it very well.
We had our 'fix' & then wandered along the sea front road to inspect the shops, even stopping to buy the odd item. Just back from the front we went into the loveliest Anglican Church, completely built of timber, with some fine stained glass windows. From there we walked back to the Catholic Church further down the road which was interesting but inferior to its C of E counterpart.
Having given it a good shake we retired to yet another cafe before we returned to the jetty & in true Pommy style joined a big queue to get a tender back to the ship. Our patience was rewarded when we caught the second tender & returned to our watery home.
d*** rose to the 13th deck to have some afternoon tea, to prevent him fading away but Jane, who is of sterner stuff, was an abstainer. Meanwhile the sun had come out & the vision was indeed splendid.
After dinner d*** went to see a singer, harpist in the theatre while Jane went to a film. After that he went on to a display of Maori singing & dancing which was excellent & included them teaching the Haca, a Maori war dance, to some of the men in the audience.
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