Akaroa- village of near misses

It has been a weekend full of rain and running. Shawn and Kevin and I rented a car and drove down to Akaroa for the weekend and had a great time, no thanks to mother nature. We got to the quaint harbourside town of Akaroa around 1pm, and tripped lightly to the visitors' center in search of some good walks to go on. We decided on Stony Bay Peak and The Hinewa reserve the next day.


Trouble struck the Lewis and Clark expedition early when we got more than slightly lost trying to find the head of the trail, thus adding about an hour to our already 5-7 hour hike up the mountain.


We were also chased by this rather large and hairy pig. It was scary, but also funny. Laughing and running are not easy things to do together, but by the end of the day I would be an expert at it.


We found the trail and started the strenuous journey upwards. At one point Shawn suggested that we needed to get T-shirts made that say "I climbed Stony Bay Peak and you didn't! So suck it!" This gave us some energy to journey on, despite our realisation that we probably should have worn some sunscreen, and my realisation that courdoroy was not my friend. We took a rest, our destination rising majestically in the background.


When we reached that smaller rock sticking up in front of the peak, which was not attained via the path, but by just running up the side of the hill, we were unnerved to discover that all the sheep were just staring at us incredulously. Eventually they seemed to shake their heads in dismay and trot away, and we turned back to discover a rather unpleasant storm making its way swiftly over the mountains on the far side of the harbour. Clever sheep. We decided to nix the summit concept and head back to the car as expeditiously as possible. As we picked our way carefully down the steep grade we all stopped at the same time-- "Is that a waterfall?" Kevin queried. Shock and horror dawned on Shawn's face, "No, that's rain!"
We looked down and saw all the boats racing towards shore as the harbour was pelted with rain from the oncoming storm, which was coming directly at us because of the height we had attained on the mountain. We scampered comically down the hill and hit the trail again just as the first crack of lightening skidded across the sky. And then we ran. At one point I considered that it was entirely possible that the wind would actually lift me off the mountain and that would be sort of cool... apart from the landing, obviously. Soaking wet and exhausted, we made it back to the car without even damaging anyone's camera. I'm working on putting the video of Shawn and Kevin running down the hill online.
We decided that the shirts should say, "I ran down a mountain because I thought I was going to die, and you didn't... So suck it!"


By the time we made it back to the car the rain had let up, so we ventured on to Hickory Bay, looking for a potential place to make a campfire. We discovered lots of signs telling us not to camp or make a fire, and decided on exploring the seaside caves instead. However, when we got to the rocks on the far-side of the beach near the caves we had a bit of a shock. One of the rocks lifted it's head and turned out to be a rather large seal. A smaller one followed suit and the five of us just stood there-- staring at each other. We took some pictures and left. On the way back across the beach the rain started up again. Can you see the seals? Because we almost didn't. But they're in there.


You may be thinking at this point, "My god, you're lucky to be alive!" Right you may be, but I haven't even mentioned the roads! This picture, on the way back from Hickory Bay, says it all. I would like you to note the width of this road, which is intended for two-way traffic, but is currently snugly accommodating my tiny economy vehicle. Now if you'd like to turn your attention to the sign behind the car. Apparently the road is about to narrow from one lane to half a lane? What is that about! Fortunately we didn't meet anyone in either direction, as one of us would have had to back all the way up or down the road to allow a pass-by.


We got back to our campground which was a nice view from a dingy holiday park, and made dinner in the kitchen instead of outside (much to Kevin's chagrin) since it was, you guessed it, raining again. We then spent most of the evening alternately watching the sunset, playing cards, playing the guitar, and watching for meteors. Kevin saw the only falling star of the evening, but we had a good time nonetheless, and passed out rather comfortably in our tents afterwards. I even forgot to take pictures until the next day, I was so tired.


The next morning we were up bright and early to pack up and try to find some waterfalls.


Apparently the people who keep the reserve in order thoroughly enjoy the woodworking aspect of the job, as they had a label for just about everything. This one is approximately 12 feet (or 4 metres) from the loo itself. Which is also similarly labeled.


We found a small falls in the Hinewa Reserve, that was tucked away in the dense undergrowth. I was half-expeciing to see a few faeries frolicking, but they didn't make themselves evident.


The walk down to the falls was really awe-inspiring. Think that yellow stuff looks nice? Well, think again. It's called "goss-- or something" [Kevin the Botanist] and it's covered in sharp spines. The whole place was covered in it, although it was kept well off the paths by the crazy woodworking folk. Still--dangerous though it may be-- the effect is rather spectacular. Which is about all I have to say for the entire penninsula.