With visitors in town we decided that despite the chilly weather we would take them around the Banks Peninsula to the town of Akaroa and then on to the Akaroa Head Scenic Reserve to visit the seals we had seen there before.
As we climbed out of Akaroa towards Akaroa Head we had great views across the bay as the sun started to appear between the gaps in the clouds. Although it was chilly, we were still surprised to see a light dusting of snow on the tops of the hills in the distance.
We made our way out towards the site of the former lighthouse on Akaroa Head and stood on the cliff edge being buffeted by the wind and watching the changing light over the ocean and the hills marking the entrance to Akaroa harbour.
The ocean swells were much stronger than we were expecting and as we looked out across the headlands of the Pohatu Marine Reserve we could see the waves breaking over the rocky platform.
We had timed our arrival to be here at low tide so that we could make our way down the the rocks where we had watched the seals. As we looked into the inlet it was hard to imagine the crystal clear turquoise waters that we had seen the last time we were here. The wind whipped the sea in the inlet creating spirals of sea foam that drifted across the bay.
We quickly realised that we wouldn’t be watching the seals swimming today and so we made our way back to the French settlement of Akaroa to look around the town. We hoped to find a coffee or hot chocolate to warm us up in one of the French bakeries the town is famous for, after our blustery hike on the clifftops.
Unfortunately, on this chilly Sunday afternoon everything was closed so we had to skip the French pastries on this visit and instead made our way back over the snowy hill tops to Christchurch.