We drove over to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula, parked the car and waited outside the old Post Office for the lift taking us to Onuku Hut for our first night. As we waited other rucksack laden people joined us and we met Annabel and Eleanor who were to be our fellow 2-day hikers as opposed to the larger group of 4-day hikers. The bus journey took us to the SE of Akaroa around a bit of the coast we'd not seen before, past an early Maori settlement. The hut itself was good, one for 2-dayers and one for 4-dayers. Better equipped than the DOC huts and with a beautiful garden of native trees.
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| Saturday morning and just about to set off on the first day's hike |
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| Just a few feet along the path, these 2 lovely little pigs came hurtling out from a hedge, desperate to make friends with us, following us till we got the main track |
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| It was a very calm, misty morning, and the track rose pretty steeply up towards the highest point on the crater rim |
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| Looking back the way we'd come, it appeared that the cloud was creeping up towards us. The track was clearly marked all the way, Akaroa Harbour still visible below us, and we soon came to the top where we stopped for a rest |
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| Of course having reached the highest point there was nowhere else to go but down and we soon found ourselves walking through lush, damp bush, very green with loads of tree ferns |
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| Quite hard work going down and down with loads of streams to cross . . . |
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| . . . and a number of waterfalls |
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| One of many Hugh Wilson lovely signs on the track |
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| Eventually, after walking about 4 hours, we made it to our lunch stop at Flea Bay Cottage. |
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| It was a very cute place and we made full use of the facilities. There was a penguin burrow under the outside toilet |
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| For the next two hours we walked around the coast, a fabulous track |
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| Down at Seal Cove we came across a little shelter that had been built into the rock |
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| It had rather lovely little stained glass windows |
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| The track continues up and down, up and down around the coast, hugging the cliff edges |
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| At last our destination came into view: Stony Bay Cottages. It had been a long days walk |
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| It was certainly stony and there were seals lolling around |
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| It was quite exotic, very green and lush, a family lives and farms here though its very remote, no road in or out that we could see |
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| Stony Bay huts were gorgeous and quirky. Tis fantastic shack, built onto the side of a dead tree was the wash room and shower. There was hot water too (unlike the DOC huts) |
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| This is one of the toilet doors |
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| Out door pool. The 4 day hikers hut is behind Mike, ours was just out the picture on the right. We had a big fire which we kept going throughout the evening. Our hut also had a lovely wood burning stove, but there was no electricity so we had a candle lit dinner |
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| Mike relaxing in the outdoor bath. He built a fire underneath it and it took a while to get hot enough. Eileen and Annabel got the best of it later on |
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| Eileen and Annabel our fellow 2-dayers in front of the wash room |
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| Ready to set off on Sunday morning |
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| Another calm misty morning, sun just breaking through as we set off, uphill of course |
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| Beautiful morning, sea like glass. We later learnt that the column of cliff had been an arch joined to the headland until the 2010 earthquake |
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| Loads of seals on this rocky beach. It was around this point that my knees began to fail me and I started using Mike's stick as well as my own |
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| As we rounded the headland a large field of sheep came into view against the skyline |
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| The track led us right up the middle of the field through the sheep who parted either side of us |
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| Then our lunch spot came into view, Otanerito Bay. We knew the beach because we'd walked here down from the crater rim with Bill and Laureen at Christmas. The hills behind the beach lead up through the Hinewai Reserve, which is managed by Hugh Wilson |
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| Mike braved the sea but it was very cold |
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| Gate leading to the pretty hut, where we met up with A&E again and drank tea. We knew the rest of the walk as we'd done it before the other way round. |
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| Coming out of Otanerito Hut ready for the long haul up and over the crater rim back down into Akaroa |
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| Approaching Purple Peak Saddle, the highest point . . . |
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| . . . and over the other side. My knees were fine going uphill but terrible going down so it took us rather a long time to get back down to Akaroa at sea level |
