Akaroa
is a small village located on the Banks
Peninsula about ninety minutes outside
of Christchurch by bus. The Banks Peninsula
is made up of two massive, drowned volcanic
craters the cones of which jut out from
the otherwise flat Canterbury Plain. Captain
Cook originally thought that the volcanoes
were islands due to the salt lakes which
extend from the ocean into the plain and
he named the area Banks Island after his
botanist Joseph Banks. The craters now
form the protective harbors where the town
of Akaroa is located.
Akaroa is
a great day trip with its pleasant main
street, hikes through the surrounding hills
and harbor. Many people come to Akaroa
for the chance to swim with dolphins in
the harbor.
It
was a nice day in January 2003 when I
visited Akaroa, but low clouds threatened
to bring rain to the rolling hills, brown
with the lack of rain. After spending
a few hours walking through the surrounding
hills, I decided to walk along the path
near the beach. I saw the little building
at the end of the pier and though that
the color of its roof contrasted beautifully
with the water and the sky. |
