The final leg of our journey took my dad and I up the east coast. First stop was Akaroa, a peninsula to the south east of Christchurch, visiting my friend Cece who I originally met during my first wwoofing experience last April.
A town with a strong French influence, Akaroa is reached by a long winding road, which eventually rewards you with picture perfect coastal views. Our room for the night was called the Stargazer. A wooden tent like hut with windows set into the roof, allowing the guest to lie back and view the stars (or in our case, the clouds) while drifting off to sleep.
The following day we went to the centre of Christchurch, interesting for me to see the progress which had been made since I last passed through in April and for dad, who was witnessing the earthquake’s destructive power for the first time. Walking around the city the constant sounds of construction created an intense reminder of what had passed.
We had a stopover in the small town of Kaikoura, with shops mostly spread over a single street it is famous largely for the opportunity to go whale watching. It occurred to me how easy it can be, to lack appreciation for scenery after driving amongst such majestic surroundings as the Alps. However, looking out of the window on the road between Christchurch and Kaikoura, the rolling green farmland under the setting sun held a beauty in its simplicity.
Our final day on the south island involved one more hitching adventure. A young French man, deterred by the wind, was hitching a ride with his bike to the next largest town. He had just journeyed around the island on two wheels and as this was my goal before summer is over I was grateful for all the advice and inspiration he could offer. Dad was grateful to speak to someone who had survived the experience!
We were soon boarding the ferry back to Wellington and as we did so, I reminisced all that we had encountered. Torrential rain, sunburnt heads, wrong turns and off road adventures, ferocious seagulls, rainforests, glaciers, seas, oceans, mountains… the list goes on! It’s been an incredible two weeks spent with one of my favourite people in the world and as we say farewell for now, I’m happy in the knowledge that I’ve inspired the explorer within him.
As we took the bus to the airport one of my favourite and most hilarious parts of the trip occurred. On our way to the airport I showed dad my passport full of visa stamps. He looked through, admired them and then asked if I wanted it taking home for safekeeping…
