South Island Itinerary: Akaroa

Even though the French-themed town of Akaroa (45 minutes south of Christchurch) is quite small and mostly consists of a few tourist shops and cafes, it is well worth going on the harbor and dolphin cruises there. This was my second time out, and with sunny weather and two playful Hector's dolphins, it can't really be beat for a good afternoon.

 

Swimming with Dolphins in Akaroa

We had visitors in town so had the opportunity to show them around the South Island and Sydney. Not everyone is into the extreme adventure activities that the tourism industry likes to tout, so I had the challenge of finding fun outdoor things that were low-key and planning around the busy tourism season with accommodation and bookings. Overall their trip went well in spite of the off and on New Zealand weather.

First we went to Akaroa to go swimming with dolphins. The harbor has one of the world's smallest one, the Hector's dolphin, which has a silver body and black stripe and rounded fins. We spotted lots of them in different pods and saw several babies which were very cute. It was a beautiful, clear day with sunshine and warmth, so even though the dolphins weren't interested in getting super close to us, we got to see them near us in the water a few times. We also had a harbor tour included and saw blue penguins, seals, an albatross, and beautiful rock formations (that looks like Mars). We went for fish and chips afterward and went home after a full day out.

blue penguins

Hector's dolphins

 

cormorants/shags on the rocks

seals

albatross