Christchurch, New Zealand - Akaroa

The small town of Akaroa is only about an hour away from Christchurch. It's a good weekend getaway destination during the summer season, but beware, it can get pretty crowded. 

You know you've almost reached Akaroa when the winding road greets you. I must say, I was pretty scared when my family and I first drove to Akaroa; which was many moons ago. The road has a lot of twist and turns which can get pretty dangerous especially during rainy days. I am not in any way trying to deter or discourage you from going to Akaroa, it's a beautiful little town and more people should come and see its gems!

There is a spot that you can stop by and take beautiful pictures of Akaroa Harbour. If you have spare coins and would like to view Akaroa on a close up, there is a tower viewer telescope mounted on a stalk ready at your service. You'll recognise this "spot" that I'm talking about fairly easy since it's technically the car park of The Hilltop Restaurant. 

Akaroa is famous for its beautiful harbour and French ambience. It was colonised by the French in the early 1800's and their footprints remain nestled in the small town. The French influence is everywhere in Akaroa, even the street names and the names of the buildings are in French.

Since its famous for its harbour, there are a lot of water activities that you can do in Akaroa including the famous Harbour Nature Cruise, where if you're lucky you might be able to spot dolphins enjoying their swim. You can also do kayaking or rent a paddle boat to better appreciate the waters.

Many Cantabrians or people across NZ, hold their weddings and special events in Akaroa. I mean why wouldn't you? There are a number of small motels and restaurants that can accommodate special events. If you're quick with your Google skills, I'm pretty sure you'll find what suits you best.

A good five minutes drive away from the main town centre of Akaroa, you'll be able to see the whole town. It's almost impossible to get lost in Akaroa since it's a really small town. Just step on that accelerator and go wherever your heart brings you. haha

No trip to Akaroa is complete without taking a snap of the iconic lighthouse. It is open for viewing every day from 2pm to 4pm, unfortunately, when we got there it was already closed.

Akaroa is really good if you need a quick breather away from the city. It's a great place to unwind and set yourself ready for the week ahead.

Tip: There is a really good fish and chips shop in Akaroa right in the heart of its main town centre. You'll probably recognise it because they normally have a good amount of people lining up whenever we are there.

Christchurch, New Zealand - New Brighton

If you live in Christchurch, you'd know that New Brighton is one the few mini outside-of-the-city trips that you can do that doesn't require a lot of bucks. It's such a peaceful place but it can definitely get worse during winter. In cold weather, people usually take a stroll around the beach with their bodies heavily covered from head to toe. Beach walking during winter is not really everyone's cup of tea, but hey there are plenty of brave ones out there! 

Summer is when New Brighton is most crowded. There's always something going on at New Brighton during the summer such as the Guy Fawkes, Kite Festival, Surfing lessons and many more! You can normally find major events around New Zealand through Event Finda. 

Tip: If you're looking for a good and cheap bite close to New Brighton beach, there's a decent fish and chips shop in the Carnaby Mall area. It's called "Fish n' Chicken" and you can easily spot the place because it's fairly visible when you enter the parking lot of the Carnaby Mall. It's run by a really friendly Asian family and their servings are massive! Oh, they're quite heavy on the salt so you might need to tell them to put a really tiny amount.

See you on my next blog!

xxx

Wellington, New Zealand - Beehive, Parliament House and Coastal drive.

There is no trip to Wellington without visiting the famous Beehive, where the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Ministers have their offices. As you might have already guessed, the Beehive got its name because of how the building was designed. There is a visitor centre on the ground floor of the building if you fancy learning more about its history and some facts about Parliament.

 

A couple of steps beside the Beehive complex is the Parliament House. It is a beautifully designed Edwardian neo-classical building. The entire Parliament ground is very beautiful and well-maintained. I mean just look at this 100-year-old iron gate!

Parliament Building

On the far side of the Parliament Building is the Parliament Library which houses a massive collection of books available for MP's and staff to do their research. The Parliament library is the oldest building among the three and is also the most beautifully coloured. The building sometimes appears pink in photographs especially when the sun hits its surface.

Photograph from: Britanica.com

Panorama of the Parliament square, right outside the Parliament ground.

After visiting the Parliment ground, we drove around the coastal area of Wellington to kill time before our flight. We had around 6 hours to spare and driving around the coast was a more favourable choice than waiting at the airport.

The coast was really beautiful. We didn't really know where we were going, as long as we followed the closest road to the beach, we were fine. Eventually, we ended up close to the Airport and decided to just lounge around for another hour or so to avoid being late. And ohh if you're a fan of the movie the Hobbit, you might be able to see this wee dragon still at the airport.

That's the end of our short trip to Wellington. See you guys on my next adventure!

xxx

Wellington, New Zealand - Cuba Street and Victoria Peak

Cuba street is one of the main shopping streets in Wellington. Restaurants and shops are lined on both sides of the street enticing you to enter their premise. You can easily spend a day there strolling, shopping around, and if you fancy a steaming hot cup of coffee, there are heaps of cute cafes for you to do a cafe-hop. Since time was very precious to us, we only went to Cuba street to have a look around. There were also a number of street vendors selling mouth-watering food that will help fill you up while walking around.

The buildings around Cuba street are mostly old-Eglish designs, they're gorgeous!

At night we went to Victoria Peak to see the city lights of Wellington. The view up there was incredible! My photography skills are extremely lacking and failed to capture the magnificent view. You can go there during the day too, but we wanted to see the city all lit up. Oh don't forget to bring a jacket, it's really windy on top of the peak!

See you on my next post!

xxx