Monday, 5 October 2025
This morning we set off on our fourth holiday for the year and our third to an overseas destination. This time just ‘across the ditch’ to New Zealand’s South Island. It was an early start with the alarm set for 4.45am. Blagh! The alarm duly sounded and I crawled out of bed and into the shower. My poor body clock doesn’t know where it’s at after losing an hour of sleep last night with the advent of daylight savings time and now having to rise before dawn!
Since we are flying Qantas this holiday we skipped breakfast at home and had Kerry pick us up just before 6.00am for the trip out to Tullamarine. Kerry dropped us off at International Departures just before 6.15am and we made our way straight to the Qantas counter which was already open for check-in. With barely any waiting we had our suitcases checked in and our boarding passes issued so … off to Qantas Club for breakfast.
We were due to leave Melbourne at 9.15am but our flight was delayed and we only started boarding about then. With everyone loaded we were finally in the air about 35 minutes behind schedule. However, after picking up a strong tailwind, we managed to arrive in Christchurch about 15 minutes early. Wow, that must have been a very strong tailwind.
Immigration was a breeze using the e-gate and, with Bernie having completed our Customs declaration on-line, we joined the green line for customs, thinking we’d be straight through. Um, no, there is no reward for completing your documentation on-line. As we stood in the queue we watched the people with paper arrival cards and/or goods to declare fast-tracking it through the red line! That was frustrating.
After the two customs officers processing red line passengers had cleared their queue they started assisting with the green line passengers. This sped things up considerably and we could proceed to the baggage carousel with our green tags. After our long wait to clear customs, our bags had had plenty of time to arrive at the carousel before us. With our suitcases in tow, our next stop was at the car hire counter.
With the keys in hand we headed out to the hire car lot looking for Bay 39. We found the bays allocated to ezi car rental and counted our way down the bays to 34, 35, 36 … and then looked around in confusion trying to see where the bays continued to 37, 38, 39. Aaargh, with no logic whatsoever, we had to back-track almost to the terminal building and two lanes over to find where the numbering sequence continued. Finally we had our luggage loaded into the red Ford Focus that will be our wheels for the next month.
Next stop, Bunnings to purchase a small cooler so that we can carry some basic foodstuffs with us to do self-catered breakfasts. That was a quick and easy stop BUT because of our long wait in the Customs queue we were now running late for my massage appointment. I was due to have my monthly massage before leaving home but, unfortunately, Jess was sick and had to cancel my appointment. During the week, my dear husband received an e-mail from the Akaroa Waterfront Motel letting him know that they offer massages so … he had booked me in for 5.30pm. Syri had calculated that our arrival time would be 5.33pm. Oh, dear, Bernie called to leave a message that we would be a little bit late.
With the airport on the western side of Christchurch’s city centre we were able to skirt around to the south, to pick up State Highway 75 for our drive down to the Banks Peninsula. After some congestion on the outskirts of the city, where our arrival time blew out to 5.39pm, we were making good time and our ETA was back to 5.35pm. Then, THEN! Syri, in her own inimitable fashion, told Bernie to go left onto the Summit Road. With the trusty Hema New Zealand Tourist Atlas on my lap I questioned this BUT our arrival time had gone down to 5.33pm so who was I to argue with her???
It was OK until we missed a right turn. Not knowing how much time a recalculation of the route might add, Bernie executed a u-turn and we turned left onto the road Syri had originally planned. Having climbed to a great height, as could be imagined on a road called Summit Road, Syri now had us plunging down towards Akaroa Harbour on the Duvauchelle Stock Route. Whaaat? We made it down the steep, unmade road safely and reconnected with State Highway 75 for the rest of our drive into Akaroa. En-route I made another call apologizing that I was going to be late for my appointment. The receptionist was lovely and told me it would be fine.
So, we pulled into reception to check-in. Bernie headed to our room and I headed to the room that is used for massages. Arriving late for a relaxation massage is not ideal but I did manage to enjoy it and even felt relaxed by the end. A good way to end a day of travel and get loosened up to enjoy our holiday. Meanwhile, Bernie unloaded the car and then went grocery shopping. Perfect!
After a shower we headed out to dinder at the Madeira Hotel where we both enjoyed a plate of cod and chips. After dinner (and a long day mainly seated) we decided to go for a walk along the waterfront. We walked as far as the Akaroa Boating Club Hall where we took photos of the Akaroa Lighthouse, before returning to our motel room with our 30 minute exercise goal for the day achieved. At least we closed two out of three rings today.
Steps: 10,269 (6.78kms)
