L&G took me to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula for the day. James Cook sighted the peninsula in 1770. Thinking it was an island, he named it after the naturalist Sir Joseph Banks. In 1840 whaling captain Jean Langlois negotiated the purchase of the Banks Peninsula from the local Ngati Toa chief and returned to France to form a trading company. With French government backing, 63 setlers headed for the Banks peninsula. Only days before they arrived panicked British officals sent their own warship to raise the flag at Akaroa, claiming British sovereignty under the Treaty of Waitangi. Had the setlers arrived 2 years earlier the entire South island could have become a French colony and NZ's future might have been quite different.
The journey to Akaroa took about an hour and a half and was very picturesque. It was lovely to actually look at the scenery and not to be concentrating on driving.
The photo is taken from the top of the hill looking down into Akaroa.
We had a quick bite to eat and then went for a 2 hour boat cruise. It was a lovely afternoon. We saw lots of different birds, a few Hector dolphins, which swam around the boat. They are quite rare, under 2 metres in length and impossible to photograph. We also saw a rare penguin swimming in the water a long way from the boat.