Attractions

Pit Stop

If you feel like a break before crossing the hill, stop at the Little River Gallery, Main Road, Little River (tel. 03/325-1944; www.littlerivergallery.com), where you'll find a wide range of New Zealand-made arts and crafts. And right beside the gallery is the excellent Little River Store & Café. Both are open daily -- the gallery from 9:30am to 5:30pm, the store from 7:30am to 7:30pm, and the cafe from 9am to 6pm.

Exploring the Town & Harbor

A small museum, made up of four historic buildings on Rue Lavaud (tel. 03/304-1013; akaroa.museum@ccc.govt.nz), has lively displays and good Maori collections. It's open daily from 10:30am to 4:30pm. The Langlois-Eteveneaux Cottage was partly prefabricated in France around 1846 and is probably the oldest in Canterbury. The Old French Cemetery was the first consecrated burial ground in Canterbury and is just off Rue Pompallier. The old lighthouse, which was in service from 1880 to 1980, is also interesting. Admission is NZ$4 adults and NZ$8 families.

If you're artistically inclined, pick up the brochure for the self-guided Akaroa & Bays Art Trail, which leads to the homes and studios of 18 local artists and craftspeople. You'll need at least a day, as many of them are scattered farther afield in the surrounding bays. One of the most striking and unusual artist environments is the Giant's House -- Linton, 68 Rue Balguerie (tel. 03/304-7501; www.linton.co.nz), where sculptor Josie Martin has created one of the wackiest and most inspiring gardens you'll find anywhere. She's surrounded her gorgeous historic home (B&B accommodations also provided), with landscaped gardens and a myriad of amazing mosaic sculptures that are bound to delight. Children will love it, and it's bound to be one of your lasting Akaroa memories, too. The garden is open daily from noon to 4pm December to March, and from 2 to 4pm from April through November. Admission is NZ$15 for adults and NZ$7 for children. Josie also has a cafe on-site. For a sample of local village culture, you can't go past Akaroa Cinema & Café, 4 Selwyn Ave. (tel. 03/304-7678; www.cinecafe.co.nz), which has two tiny theaters showing the latest foreign and art-house films. It's a great experience!

One thing every visitor should do is experience the harbor firsthand. Pohatu Sea Kayaking (tel. 03/304-8552; www.pohatu.co.nz), offers excellent guided kayak tours in the Flea Bay Marine Reserve and you should see lots of penguins. Your tour guide is one of the volunteers working on penguin conservation and protection, and the evening tours cost NZ$75 per person.

Special Find: The Big Cheese

As you drop down from the hills into Barrys Bay on your drive to Akaroa, keep an eye out on the left for Barrys Bay Cheese (tel. 03/304-5809; fax 03/304-5814), makers of mouthwatering traditional cheeses -- everything from award-winning cheddars to Maasdam, Gouda, Edam, and havarti, to name just a few. During the cheesemaking season (usually Oct-Apr), you can watch cheesemaking activities every second day, through the viewing gallery window. There's a shop and I advise you to stock up! They're open daily.

Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruises -- The Cat takes 90 people and offers great views throughout the 2-hour scenic cruise, which visits a salmon farm, a paua pearl farm, and bird-life sites. You have to be quite unlucky on this trip not to see the charming Hector's dolphins. The company's 3-hour dolphin-swimming trip gives you a chance to have a close encounter.

Main Wharf. tel. 0800/436-574 in NZ, or 03/304-7641. Fax 03/304-7643. www.blackcat.co.nz. Scenic nature cruise NZ$60 adults, NZ$30 children 5-15. YHA discounts available. May-Sept daily 1:30pm; Oct-Apr daily 11am and 1:30pm. Dolphin swimming NZ$130 adults, NZ$110 children 5-15. May-Sept daily noon; Oct-Apr 8:30am, 11:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm. Parking at base of wharf and along the waterfront.

Special Moment: On the Run

One adventure that shouldn't be missed is the Eastern Bays Scenic Mail Run (tel. 03/304-8526, or call the visitor center; www.akaroa.com). Join mailman Robin and Jo, who make this 120km (74-mile), 4-hour journey around some hair-raising Banks Peninsula roads every day. They deliver mail, papers, and freight to the isolated farms and communities of the peninsula, and they'll take up to eight passengers along for the ride. They'll even stop to let you take photos -- and believe me, you'll want to. The Mail Run departs from the visitor center Monday through Saturday at 9am. It costs NZ$60; reservations the day before travel are essential.