Mon 1 Feb - The Banks Peninsular, what a little Gem

Our route from Twizel took us north-east to Lake Tekapo – a very pleasant looking holiday resort – and on through Fairlie and Geraldine to the Highway 1 in the direction of Christchurch. At Ashburton we had a short stop as the quilting fraternity exchanged secret packages and passwords again. We were glad to leave the main highway that was busy with trucks and ran across nondescript countryside – a far cry from anything we had so far experienced. What we had not expected was the sheer beauty of the Banks peninsular as we drove on to Akarua. This is a small town on a magnificent inlet founded by the French, which would have been the location for French colonisation if the brits had not signed a deal with the Maori first! All the streets have French names and little Bilbo Baggins is recommending it in her good food guide!