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Akaroa 2016 |
What's covered?
This was another highlight on our previous visit but when we booked it, little did we know what the day had in store this time.
13 November
This was a six hour journey on the South Island's main road. However, being Sunday traffic was not heavy. The satnav would not find the address of our accommodation at The Olive Grove but fortunately we saw signs as we approached Akaroa. The location is high up and overlooking Robinsons Bay which more than compensated for it being about five miles outside Akaroa where we had wanted to be. More on that tomorrow. We went into town for a quick look around and dinner but quite a few places were closed. We had dinner at Bully Hayes.
14 November
We were woken during the night by the whole house shaking for two minutes. It took a moment before Gill realised it was an earthquake. The shaking was not violent but the frightening bit was what might happen. We followed the instructions for what to do in the event of an earthquake and stayed in bed until it subsided. Not having been in an earthquake zone before, we assumed this was normal for this area and went back to sleep. During the rest of the night we felt more tremors but less severe and momentory. It was only in the morning when I saw an email from Gill's sister that I realised this was international news.
In the morning we learned it had been what is known as a rolling earthquake that had started around the Canterbury Plains and was 7.5 at the epicentre. Sadly two people were killed. Chris and Annette, the owners, told us that our next destination of Kaikoura was the epicentre and it was so badly damaged and cut off that we would not be able to get there. Various exchanges took place with Trailfinders who were magnificent. We agreed it was too early at this point to make decisions but when it became clear Kaikoura was not an option, it was decided to reroute us for an overnight stop at Greymouth and book us into Nelson for an extra night. Trailfinders organised it all and picked up the extra cost.
As if that wasn't enough for one day, this day, the day of of Malcolm's funeral in Perth, was also the day we had been here together five years previously. We decided to sit on the balcony of our room and take in the scenery while reflecting on our times with Malcolm, who was also my best man. Later we went into Akaroa for lunch and then drove to the lighthouse from where there is a nice view of the harbour. Then we went and sat in the car outside a house where with Malcolm five years ago. The house then belonged to an artist. We sat and remembered Malcolm at the time of his funeral (10am Perth time, 3pm New Zealand time). We spoke to a decorator who told us the property is now owned by two ladies so the artist must have moved on.
After that we drove along part of the Tourist Drive for some stunning views, just we needed to lift our spirits.
We had drinks and olive tasting at The Olive Grove at 6pm. Then we went into Akaroa for dinner intending to go to the new The Brasserie but again it was closed so we went to Bully Hayes again. They were busy being the only place open but someone had failed to turn up so we got their table.
Later, we learned that Sue, Malcolm's partner, had a grandchild born early that morning.
So to summarise, on 14 November:
- We experienced an earthquake.
- We were in the same location that we had been in with Malcolm five years earlier on this day.
- It was the day of his funeral.
- Sue, his partner, had another grandchild born in the early hours as we were experiencing the earthquake.
Photos
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Moeraki Stones - on the way to Akaroa
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From our room, the evening before the earthquake
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The War Memorial, repaired since our last visit
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You won't see this sign too often
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