No Fixed Abode: How great are elasticated waistbands!?

Wed 10 Feb 2016 - The Banks Peninsula

The cockerel was awake at 0530 so we were too. After a short period of cat naps we pulled open the curtains to reveal the lovely view. The shadows on the far shore mountains slowly slid into the sea as the sun rose and illuminated the lake with its rosy dawn light.

As we stirred we saw a couple of male grebes involved in a turf war for the best patch of reeds then a couple of black swan glided in for a peek around the bay, while a small heron waded in to catch itself some breakfast. Then a large truck rolled up to collect the sheep the farmer had herded up yesterday. Yvonne was a bit forlorn knowing where they were headed - bit ironic as we have lamb chops for dinner tonight. Eventually we pulled ourselves away from this idyllic spot and set off for today’s adventures.

Driving over the the high pass we dropped into Akoroa bay, home of Akoroa, the main town of the Banks peninsula situated on the far side. We’d read about a couple of campsites on our side so went exploring to see if they were worth returning to. The first was a large, popular spot that still had several tents and vans remaining from the last night so we went further along the shore and found a smaller, quieter spot and made a note for tonight.

The Banks Peninsula really is a beautiful area, a pleasant surprise to us both, and we drove slowly around the coast stopping frequently for photos. We took lunch at Robinson Bay and when we had finished and were sunning ourselves a couple of ladies arrived on fully laden touring bikes. Yvonne yelled over did they fancy a cuppa, which they accepted and came over to join us. They were both Dutch, in their late 50s and had been cycling and camping around NZ for 3 months doing 40 miles a day. Not only that they’d retired early and had spent the last four years on cycle trips all over the world. Very impressive.

Finishing their tea we bade them farewell and continued to Akoroa. This lovely town has a bit of a French flavour, somewhat superficial for the benefit of the tourists, but it was originally a French settlement. Back in the day a French captain bought the land from a Maori chief and returned to France to spread the word. A short while later a boat with 50 settlers arrived, accompanied by a French warship, to find the Union Jack flying. In the intervening time the Maoris had signed the treaty of Waitangi and ceded sovereignty to the British. Bad timing for the old Frenchies or what! Nevertheless they settled and brought a little of France to the area. Le Bistro and some cheeses.

Wanting to make the most of our last three days we visited the iSite to book a trip on sailing boat to see some more wildlife. Whilst sitting outside reviewing a couple of brochures Yvonne got chatting to a local lady who was pruning the roses in the garden of Le Museum - always a conversation starter. She recommended an old gaff rigged ketch, which we booked for Friday, and also told us of a nature reserve where she works with lots of walks, so that’s on the cards for tomorrow.

After that we resisted the temptation for ice cream, the memory of yesterday’s chip mountain still fresh in our minds, and set off up an amazingly steep road to reach some footpaths on the main ridge. With the van crawling up in 2nd gear with a couple of 1st gear corners (yup - that steep) we eventually reached a sign stating ‘unfit for campervans’. We reluctantly parked the van on a grassy area and walked up a mile or so up a perfectly viable dirt track to the col at the top, cursing all the time that we’d believed the sign. The van had been on much worse gravel roads to this one during our travels. Once at the col we met a lovely cool breeze and walked along the grassy track for while admiring the stunning views on both sides.

Returning back to the van we found a lovely bay with a nice grassy area in front of the beach but there was a broken sign stating ‘no camping’ so we drove slowly along the shore to find another spot. On the way we met a local couple walking their dogs so Yvonne leant out of the window and asked where we could stay. They identified the spot we’d just been to and told us no camping meant just tents and as we are self contained we would be ok. So back we went and found a lovely spot tucked out of the way with no one else around us and flung open the back doors of the van to admire the views.

During dinner we watched a wealthy family, judging by the house, launch two jet skis using their own tractor and then listened to the noisy calls of birds settling down for the night. After dinner we remembered the Boysenberry pie we’d bought yesterday so thought we each have a sliver but you now know what our willpower has become - we ate it all. Delicious!

As night fell we saw a beautiful sunset which made us slightly melancholy about leaving this lovely country in a few days time.