Akaroa

Looking out across Akaroa harbour

By car, bus, motorbike or mountain bike, there is only one road that leads here.

Approximately an hour from Christchurch on the scenic SH 75, you’ll find yourself in Akaroa. Breathtaking views of the township, nestled next to the teal waters of the harbour, await you as you summit the remains of an ancient volcano.

Originally settled by the French in 1840, Akaroa has retained a French flair and flavour with bilingual street signs, floral baskets and tricolours. The township played an important role in New Zealand’s early history and is a wealth of information about New Zealand settlement and early settlers.

Celebrating Akaroa’s French heritage

Here, there are enough restaurants and cafés to keep the discerning traveller, gastronomist and wine buff happy for many a day. The activities are not confined to the water, with world-famous gardens, the Akaroa and Okains Bay museums, Maori and settler artifacts, paintball, scooter hire, bowls, pétanque, tennis, golf, mountain biking, the penguin colony, and farm and town tours.

On the water there are harbour tours by motor or sail, swimming with the dolphins, fishing, diving, kayaking, waterskiing, boat hire or jet boating for an adrenaline fix.

Akaroa is many things to many people, but to us it is a privilege to call it home. Be sure to bring your camera. Stay a while, but be careful – it is captivating! Some find it hard to leave…