Today was my last full day in New Zealand, so I had to make the most of it. I got up early, but not with enough time to really get breakfast. I headed to the bus stop with my camera and other sundries, and met a person who was wanting to get on the Kiwi Experience bus. He asked me for directions but I was unable to tell him where that bus picked up, only that the stop I was at was for the Yellow line.
My bus arrived on time, and I was soon at the exchange, where I walked from to get to the pick up point for the shuttle to Akaroa, near Canterbury museum.
We all checked in to the bus when it arrived, and our tour guide, Charlie, didn't have me on his list. However, since I had a valid booking ref, I was allowed on, and we headed off for the peninsula.
The bus went via the Airport, as there was a pick up to be made there, and then we headed towards Lyttleton. I was expecting that we would go through the tunnel, however that would not have made sense as the tunnel only goes to Lyttleton proper, and we were going around the bay to get to Akaroa.
We stopped about 2/3 of the way there at a place called Little Hill, where we all piled out to take photos of the views. It didn't feel very warm, but the sun was trying its best, and it looked to be turning in to a nice day.
We made it in to Akaroa in good time, and the driver took us to both pick up places, confirming he would wait for us at both. The pick up point I was concerned about was at the boat pier, and so close I no longer felt nervous about the small amount of time between boat coming back and bus departing.
I decided I should probably eat something before embarking on the cruise, so went in to the fish and chip shop and ordered the fish of the day + chips (this being cheaper than a fish meal somehow). I used the time to type up some of the journal notes in to my phone, though I only really managed a few of them, and then I went to the pier to exchange my voucher for a boarding pass to the cruise. There was still some time left before departure, so I headed to the top of Stanley Park to get some nice views.
Before I knew it, it was time to board, so I headed to the pier, where I met a family from Singapore They gave me some tips on places in Malaysia to go to, and said that I should not miss out going to east Malaysia, that being on the island with Brunei.
The cruise was very fulfilling, as we were treated to a plethora of wildlife to take in, starting with baby Shags, then seeing a Yellow eyed penguin, baby seal pups, mating seals, Hector's Dolphins, and we even saw a white flippered blue penguin swimming The dolphins started out by feeding and it looked like we might not get to play with them, but they soon decided to come an investigate the boat, swimming and jumping through the bow wave and under the boat between the twin hulls.
It was a joy to be able to see yellow eyed penguins properly in the wild rather than staying in man made box nests (the ones at penguin beach were still wild but it felt more artificial), as well as seeing blues swimming in the sea.
We got back to the pier pretty much exactly the time advertised, and as I made it to the bus stop, the bus arrived!
We got everyone picked up, and then we were offered the opportunity to stop off at a cheese factory for a self guided tour, but nobody on the bus really felt like doing that, which pleased the driver immensly, as it meant he could get straight back to Christchurch without having to deal with waiting for folk!
We were given a door to door drop off service by the driver, whose parting words to everyone were to review on trip advisor and give him good reviews, his name was Charlie. By the time the last person and myself were left, it was us telling him his name and trip advisor, as it had become somewhat of a joke, which we all found amusing.
Once back at the hostel, I made up the last lamb burger and potato/carrot meal, and then retired to the lounge to start writing up my journal, though that was interupted when the long term residents arrived, with a view to watching 'Die Hard', the classic christmas movie. That failed to happen though as the person with the copy of the movie didn't appear, however we did all watch Speed, and had a great time finding holes in the plot line, making our own commentary, and laughing when new people arrived in the room, saw a few seconds, and then asked "Is this speed?". It was bout 11pm by the time I left, and I proceeded to sort out my belongings ready to get on to the flight for the next day, before retiring to bed. There was nobody left in th dorm for this night, and the sheets for all the bunks had been replaced, so I got to sleep in the lower bunk, which was nice as there was no shaking about feeling and I got a good night's sleep