Stuff we did:

With another overnight stay we continued north until the Bank Peninsula, where we pitched the tent for the last time.

The peninsula is just outside Christchurch and has some amazing bays and high mountains that rise up from the sea.

It was a very enjoyable mostly sunny day without rain on the peninsula. It was one of the best spots of the whole trip to pitch the tent here: with a view into the harbor of Akaroa. We drove on little curvy roads from bay to bay, up and down the mountains, returned to our great campsite and had nice chats with the neighbors. A really wonderful day.

The weather forecast showed rain for our remaining days and so we decided to go drive to Christchurch to stay in a nice hostel for the last few days.

We had a stop on the way to Christchurch to get our feet wet one more time. Man, we love the ocean.

Stuff we saw:

We had some un on the local playground in Oamaru

The sea is still heavy

Harbor in Oamaru

What a friendly pig.

Hi there!

In Timaru you can find penguins in the container area of the harbor.

Here are some of them…

And two other penguins… can’t get enough of them…

During the day the town is an interesting mix of industry, harbor and nice streets.

Harbor in Timaru.

Nice town

On the way to Banks Peninsula.

Not the worst campsite….

And even the sun showed up.

The next day we made a drive through the eastern bays of the peninsula.

The mountains just reach the clouds.

wonderful beaches.

the water was actually pretty warm.

We got a pretty amount of sun that day….

Oystercatcher….

Mother Nature painted some nice patterns on the beach.

Christy getting creative.

Ups, the tide is coming in….

Quite meditative…

These bays are wonderful.

What a view.

Sheeps everywhere.

More bays.

We had a wonderful drive around the peninsula.

Enjoying the view.

Akaroa harbor.

Its a nice little town with a French flair.

Mr. Duck looks important.

Little Duck is curios.

Harbor near Christchurch.

Christchurch.

street art everywhere.

A fancy library

The city got basically completely destroyed on a massive earthquake.

The old Cathedral is beyond repair.

Details of the cathedral that has been destroyed in the earthquake 2011.

The damage is visible everywhere.

These building still wait to be torn down.

The chairs represent the 182 people that got killed.

Visiting the beach.

Christy getting wet-feet-ready.

Low tide is offering a huge beach. The feet sink into the sand a few mm. Wonderful feeling.

We are enjoying the vastness of a huge and empty beach.

Mesmerizing.