We are up early with the intent to get another day of hiking in here at Arthurs Pass. An added benefit, we catch our first NZ sunrise here in the mountains. It is very grey on the west horizon and by the time we finish breakfast it has begun to sprinkle. We ditch the hiking plan. We are heading east to the Banks Peninsula in hopes the rain is held back by the mountains between us. Kent likens the route to a drive through the rural mountains of West Virginia, sometimes steep, always curly, and with lots of those dippy spots that bounce the campervan sideways. I enjoy the view. We both enjoy a stop at The Famous Sheffield Pies, in Sheffield of course. They are known for their savory meat pies of all description. The Buttery Chicken and Sheffield Special are both about perfect; thick tasty gravy with lots of filling and a perfect flaky crust. Beatrice (our Navman GPS) sends us on a less than direct route but we end up on target, route 75 to the Banks Peninsula. At a quick stop in Little River we get advice to take the high loop (the tourist loop) around the peninsula for great views. While we are there, we also try another NZ ice cream, Killinchy Gold. The flavors are delicious, hokey pokey (Kent this time) and blueberry lemon for me but for creamy smoothness Deep South creamery has them beat.
Our destination is a campground in Akaroa, a town on a deep bay of the same name. The tourist drive does offer phenomenal views of the many-fingered bay below and the rolling pasture land that makes up most of the peninsula. Below, turquoise blue waters are dotted with sailboats and even a cruise ship. The high route with stops and a detour or two adds an hour to our drive and tests driver’s nerves and campervan brakes. Again, I very much enjoy the views. Fortunately, traffic isn’t very heavy so we don’t often have to share switchbacks with others and can pull off for lots of pictures. Beatrice offers one last bit of terrible guidance and we start down a very narrow – barely one lane- steep gravel road to the campground. Luckily, we meet a local just a few hundred yards down the hill. It is so narrow we actually have to back up to let him out. At the top of the hill the local gets out of his 4-wheel drive and asks, “Are you aware that gets very narrow and steep just below? Are you going to the Holiday park? Follow me, you need to go in the lower entrance.” We did. It was great advice. Local 1. Beatrice 0. We have a partial bay view from our site and a walking path into town. Perfect. Turns out the path is quite steep with lots of steps, flashback the waterfall walk yesterday, but we manage a lovely stroll around town and a quick stop at the grocery. We find a bottle of Oyster Bay Pinot Noir for me (oh, I will share) and antihistamine for Kent and his sand fly bites. Home again now for a quiet diner and our last night in our own little road maggot in NZ.