Lyttleton - Diamond Harbour - Akaroa

Long before Markus arrived in New Zealand, we had agreed that the Banks Peninsula would be our first stop. It juts out into the sea like the Egmont National Park and is crisscrossed by a network of narrow, winding roads that thread along the crater rims and lead down into bays. In the past, whales and seals were caught here; today, you can join whale, dolphin, and seal tours.

In Lyttleton, which was severely impacted by the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, we shared a portion of fish & chips while I revealed to Markus what I had planned for the upcoming days on the Banks Peninsula. We spent the night in Diamond Harbour, across from Lyttleton on the other side of Lyttleton Harbour, where we watched the fishermen as they fished in the evening.

The next morning, after breakfast, the first activity was already on the agenda: a hike to Mount Herbert, the highest point of the Banks Peninsula at 919m. We had perfect weather, a beautiful view of the harbor bay, and a great picnic at the summit. A large family joined us there, wanting to take a family photo while tossing rose petals in the air. Apparently, the family had scattered the ashes of their deceased father or grandfather at the summit a few years ago and has been meeting there every year on December 23 since.

By the time we returned to the car, evening had already arrived. Therefore, we just drove to Akaroa, stocked up on various cheeses at Barry's Bay Traditional Cheese along the way, and took a stroll along the promenade in Akaroa until we reached the lighthouse.

For the next day - Christmas Eve - I had booked a dolphin swim tour from Akaroa. All twelve participants first received a 5mm thick wetsuit and diving shoes, as the water there is really cold! We spent three hours cruising through the Akaroa Harbour, saw several Hector's dolphins, and also went into the water twice. Unfortunately, the dolphins did not want to swim with us; they only swam past us a few meters away. You cannot predict the behavior of wild animals. We then visited the Akaroa Heads, where we could observe some seals. Hector's dolphins are among the smallest dolphin species and are only found in the waters around New Zealand.

In the afternoon, Markus and I took a short hike on the Purple Peak Track to Stony Bay Peak and then left the peninsula via the Summit Road. At times, thick clouds hung around the peaks, and it also rained a bit. This brought back memories of our flat tire in La Palma, but this time everything went well!

Only with the onset of darkness did we arrive at the campsite at Lakeside, set up our camp, cooked, and spent a very different Christmas Eve in our van.