23rd December 2009
On to the very last leg of our New Zealand adventure today, a week-long stay at a small place about an hour and a half from Christchurch called Akaroa. This is where we’ll be enjoying the festive period doing not much apart from reading, a bit of walking and generally relaxing before the madness of Sydney over New Year.
We stopped off to do our ‘Christmas shop’ in Christchurch, which although busier than normal was in no way as bad as the insanity of Tescos a few days before Christmas.
A long, winding road took us along Banks Peninsula past various bays and blue water until we reached Barry’s Bay and our hostel Halfmoon Cottage. What a perfect spot! A lovely old converted house with big rooms, big beds and storage (not always the case in hostels), wooden floors, a homely kitchen and large gardens planted with rambling roses, fruit trees and vegetables. And as a bonus, a cheese factory next door which also sells local wines. I think we’ll enjoy this :). 
