In charming, French Akaroa

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We took the shuttle bus from Christchurch to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula, which was formed following three volcanic eruptions. James Cook discovered the peninsula in 1770, thinking it was an island, and named it after his on-board botanist, Sir Joseph Banks. The name Akaroa means “Long Harbour” in Maori and it is the site of the New Zealand’s first French settlements. It’s a really charming little village which you easily warm to right away. Most of the shops and streets have French names: rue Balgeurie, rue Jolie, rue Pompallier, Chez la Mer, Bon Accord, Ca bouge... First, we visited the Giant’s House, which was a very surreal experience! It was actually named by a small girl who looked up at the house from the valley below and said that it was so big that it must be the house of a giant.

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When we arrived, we rang the attention bell and were greeted by a blue haired woman who stuck her head out of the top window and frantically looked around. When she came downstairs, we saw that she was quirkily dressed in stripey tights and stripey shoes - and very colourful! Turns out she was actually Josie Martin, the artist that has lived at the Giant’s House for the last 13 years, creating concrete mosaic sculptures for 9 of those years. Visiting the house felt just like what I imagine Alice felt like when she entered Wonderland. All around the hilly garden, there were bizarre and flamboyant sculptures of characters, animals, plants, arches, fountains, vessels and even a grand piano - all covered in colourful mosaic. All the while, there were old French tunes, such as "Je regrette rien", playing in the background. The house itself, which wasn’t actually part of the exhibit, was very colourful too. Painted in bright yellow with red door and window frames, you could catch glimpses of the colourful interior with brightly painted fake fruit, pink cushions etc. I joked to Dean that I would most certainly have strange nightmares that night, but I don’t actually remember dreaming anything :o)

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After the Giant’s House, we browsed the shops and galleries of Akaroa. We hired (rickety old!) bikes and cycled along the shore to the historic lighthouse and beyond, before having a yummy lunch at a waterfront cafe. We headed back to Christchurch in the evening and chilled out at our hostel, curled up with what might quite possibly be New Zealand’s friendliest cat, before having (another!) scrumptous Thai meal for dinner.