Nearly the last leg...

After a wonderful time on the Otago Peninsular the next few days are really about heading towards Christchurch to get the plane on Sunday. There's not so much to see on the east coast of South Island, but there's always something. 

First stop, the Moeraki Boulders, formed on the seabed 60 million years ago as lime salts accumulated around a hard core. The ones on the beach were in the soft soil behind it, but as the beach erodes the boulders come to light and then go on to be eroded by the sea - over millions of years of course!

Then on to Oamaru, the main town of North Otago, which was another amazing find. Beautiful local limestone Victorian buildings, many of which have been converted from warehouses to shops.

And a mad steam museum which we didn't go into, but caused some amusement.

We stayed at Timaru, another coastal town. We walked to the beach at dusk to look for blue penguins, who never arrived (I'm guessing they are moulting too...) but found this reminder of how vulnerable this part of the Pacific coast is.

From here went on to Akaroa, the oldest town in Canterbury and a couple of hours drive from Christchurch airport. We had intended to spend a couple of days in Christchurch, but frequently on our journey we have been advised not to stay too long as it is such a sad place and gawping at peoples misfortune doesn't seem quite right.

So, we chose to come to Akaroa which is beautiful. It was settled by the French in 1840 and seems keen to keep those connections. There is a Gendarmerie, a Boucherie, and the petrol station advertises L'essence. Many of the streets, though not all, have French names and there seem to be quite a few French tourists - perhaps searching for their ancestors?

There are rare Hector dolphins here and Graham went swimming with them! I'm not too fond of water, and there was only one space left so I went along as a spectator. We have some more professional photos of these, but these will give you a flavour of how it went. Glorious weather again, just right for our last day on the road.

That is Graham and a dolphin in the open sea. The dolphins are wild and come to visit the boat and to investigate the swimmers. Just one more day to go now. Tomorrow morning. We have a short drive to drop the van off and the we will spend the rest of the day in Christchurch before flying home on Sunday.