As we drove out of Christchurch, at the steady and economical speed of 80 km/h, we began to see the beauty of New Zealand. We passed rolling hills and clear water lakes as we made our way to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsular. We also spotted a few wooly locals in the fields and walking along the roadside. Si couldnt help but beep loudly scaring the poor creatures!! The view of Akaroa from the hills was beautiful. We could see the lake and all the peaceful green hills that surrounded the small town. As we drove through the town the sun began its decent and sparkled on the surface of the water. Just past the town we found a lay-by and pulled in for the night. Our first night of free accommodation! Our first evening was a cold one. We were so used to heat, often struggling to settle as it was too warm. Cold weather was definitely a shock to the system so we huddled around the gas canister cooking dreading the cold nights ahead! We snuggled up in bed with our freezing feet and somehow managed to have a decent night sleep. Bright and early we moved into town and enjoyed breakfast with a view. The town, originally inhabited by the French, was quaint. There were lots of gorgeous shops and restaurants. All the roads, shops and hotels were french themed. We drove further on through the town and found a Maori meeting house and a small church. Sadly we werent allowed in the meeting house but the carvings on the inside looked fab. We had pretty much seen everything we had wanted to see in one day so we drove on to Governors Bay and had another lovely free spot to sleep. Again the views were gorgeous. We drove the follwing day to Timaru (a very small town with nothing to report) before heading to Lake Tekapo.