This morning we were due to go on a 2hour trip to see some dolphins. When we went to pick up our tickets we were told they had cancelled the trip due to the strong wind. It was incredibly windy. Instead we had a look around Akaroa itself, a very pretty place with a big French influence. The gardens of the houses are beautiful. It being a Saturday, there was a small craft market and a farmers market on.
We had been told that a road trip round the rim of an old extinct volcano was worth the trip. Good advice, it was brill. We took a detour down a small lane and ended up at a beautiful sandy beach. So windy you could hardly stand up. We had our lunch here and completed the circuit back to Akaroa.
There was an artist in the village who did sculptures and mosaics, we paid a visit to her garden and it was amazing - a bit Dali like but stunning. It was called the Giant House and all her sculptures were big and colourful. There was also an open garden scheme happening and although we didn't have a ticket we managed to get in one garden which was being restored. All very interesting but I am glad I didn't have to cut so much undergrowth away to expose what had bee a beautiful garden.