Saturday – October 27, 2018
Akaroa is a tiny town of about 700 permanent residents located in a gorgeous protected harbor on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. There are no port facilities so cruise ships have to anchor in the bay and passengers take tenders to the town. This is the entire town of Akaroa:
The first settlers of Akaroa were from France so the village is considered a “French” town. Yellow spring flowers were in bloom along the top of the surrounding hills.
Many of Majestic’s passengers booked excursions to the nearby city of Christchurch. Jeff and I preferred to stay in Akaroa and explore the small town. We made the right choice because Akaroa was absolutely gorgeous. Even with the invasion of a thousand people, Akaroa was peaceful and calm and lovely.
Everywhere we looked there was a postcard photo. Akaroa became another one of our favorite towns in the world and we wished it was closer to home so we could visit often.
“Historic” buildings were only a century old but they were well maintained and painted in bright colors:
Some streets had French names like Rue Joli and several business flew the French flag. There was an outdoor Saturday market selling local produce and crafts.
It’s wonderful to know that there are such beautiful towns in the world and how lucky the residents are who live in Akaroa.
