Back to Christchurch

It's Sod's Law isn't it. you find somewhere you could easily spend 6 months on the penultimate day of your trip! Onuku was one of those places. It was time to leave far too early and I longed to stay a bit longer but I had to get back to CHCH to catch a flight in the following few days. Following Steve's advice, I took the back roads backs to civilizations via one of the amazing secluded bays that makes the Peninsula such an attractive destination. The steep climb out of Akaroa seemed to be endless as the coastal town gradually got smaller and smaller in my rear view mirror. The road slowly deteriorated into a dirt track as I neared the watershed. Once on the top I almost immediately dropped down the other side into Le Bons Bay. This beautiful unspoiled bay housed an amazing beach with a handful of homes behind the dunes. The weather today was nothing short of superb and the sun made the beach just perfect. These steep roads had taken their toll on my poor little car and had to let it cool down in the shade of a tree before attempting the steep climb back out of the bay! I spent a while just sitting on the beach thinking of the amazing time I have had here, in NZ.


On my way out of the bay, I had a huge oil delivery truck on my tail - obviously with more power than I had, even with my foot to the floor, i could hardly maintain 20mph. He was always right behind me. I felt bad for holding him up, so I pulled over as soon as possible to let him pass. With a friendly toot of his horn, he sped past. Once back on the backbone, I made my way reluctantly back towards CHCH. The back road was blocked due to a slip (surprise surprise) So I had to cut back onto the main road (SH75) and retrace my tire tracks back to the city, passing the hexagonal cafe once again.