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Brandon O'Brien

Travel and Adventure Journal

I wanted a place to journal all my travels and adventures around the world. I always enjoy going back and reflecting on my past travels and getting to relive them through my words and photos.

Christchurch and Akaroa - New Zealand 2019

Christchurch and Akaroa - New Zealand 2019

Wednesday, November 27, 2019 @ 10:00 PM in 2019 New Zealand

Day 4

Sam and I started the morning with another run. We didn't really have a plan but saw there were some paths to the north of where we were staying. We started jogging along and eventually came upon a footbridge that got all mangled during the earthquake in 2011. When we finished the run, we stopped for some pastries at Grizzly Baked Goods and then made our way down to Akaroa.

On the drive to Akaroa, we saw a little cheese shop that had some picnic tables out front and some nice views of the bay. We stopped and got some cheese, salami, crackers and wine and made a really nice little pitstop. Akaroa is known as a French settlement but nothing about the place would have made you think there was any French influence there. It's still a really quaint harbor town that was fun to explore. We started by checking out a little park and then walking around the harbor area.

Sam and I opted for a tour of the bay while Mike and Anne went to a vineyard. The boat tour was really nice, showing us a lot of the coastline that we never would have seen from the car. After we finished the tour, we met back up with Mike and Anne at a restaurant called Bully Hayes where we had some beer, muscles and paella. It was getting a little late and we still had to drive back to Christchurch, so we packed back into the car and set off north again.

When we were driving to Akaroa, we saw a huge beach called Birdlings Flat and decided to stop there on the way back to the hotel. The beach didn't have sand, but instead was nothing but eroded rocks. For some reason, Mike had the idea that we could drive onto the beach but we quickly realized that was a horrible idea as the rental van started to sink into the rocks. Rather than stopping and getting stuck, he was able to keep the van moving and got us turned around and back into the parking area. We were all pretty worried there for a minute that we might have to call a tow truck to get us out, haha.

Today was Sam's birthday so we stopped at a supermarket and got her some cake to celebrate!

Teaser photos:

Twisted bridge from earthquake
Twisted bridge from earthquake
Cheese, meat and wine at Barrys Bay Traditional Cheese
Cheese, meat and wine at Barrys Bay Traditional Cheese
Playing around in a park in Akaroa
Playing around in a park in Akaroa
Cliffs in Akaroa on a boat tour
Cliffs in Akaroa on a boat tour

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Tags: new zealand, honeymoon, christchurch, akaroa

Posted from: New Zealand

Where this entry was written: