Day 6 Christchurch -> Akaroa Part I

At the moment we stepped in Christchurch, our mood turned 180 degree. Before we came to New Zealand, the news on television kept on reporting on the earthquake happened in Christchurch, our local newspaper kept on publishing the impacts brought to Christchurch, we knew how serious was the earthquake. But at the moment we saw the collapsed building right in front of us, it really depressed us.

 The collapsed building can still be seen everywhere in the city center.

The 2 photos were just showed a small part of Christchurch after earthquake.

The map highlited in red was the red zone in Christchurch. The whole area was closed since earthquake until now for the repairing job. It was really hard to imagine, an earthquake destroyed such a beautiful city.

. 

Since this blog is about my south island trip, I shouldn't talk too much about the tragedy. After we reached Christchurch, our first destination was Akaroa, a beautiful French settlement. Akaroa was just located 1 hour driving distance away from Christchurch. Over here, there are some famous activities like swimming with dolphin, kayaking, jetboating, fishing.

There was an tourist drive when you going to reach Akaroa. This drive allows you to have a overall view on the beautiful Akaroa by driving.

We spent the whole morning and walked around Akaroa.

I found an artist in the town.

And he offered to draw a portrait of mine. Good drawing right?

We also had a short walk to look at the scenic view from high.

There were a few food that must be tried in Akaroa.
1) Fudge

There was a famous fudge selling in a souvenir shop called Pot Pourri in town.

The fudge was really smooth and rich in flavour. You may asked for tasting before you purchase them.

2) The local bakery shop
 There are 2 local bakery shop i would recommend.

a) The first one is called 'Danish Pastry'. Over there we tried Chicken, Brie Cranberry Panini and thecombination was really special and delightful. It was so nice until I forget to take a photo on it before I tried it. :P

b) The second bakery shop - L'escargot Rouge - Deli to Go

This bakery served some french bakery. Since Akaroa was a french settlement area, we should try some food related to French!

Croque Monsieur. It was actually a toast topped with cheese and they put some ham as a filling. The toast was very soft  and the melted cheese gave some pleasant flavour.

3) Fish N Chip

Yeah, Fish and chip is the food that everyone must try in New Zealand. There was a Fish N Chip shop in Akaroa - Akaroa Fish shop.

They served some typical fish and chip. Hmmm, standard fish and chip with average taste.

They served steam fish as well! This is something special about this shop.

Akaroa is not really happening, but if you look for a place to unwind, this is the right place for you.

Of course, we returned to Christchurch after our Akaroa day trip.