Here we visited the Church of the Good Shepherd, a tiny chapel perched on a hill in a picturesque spot next to the lake. It was great timing as within 30 seconds of leaving the Church a hoard of school-children and a busload of tourists turned up! From Tekapo we continued north, joining the ‘Inland Scenic Route’ highway before turning left and heading further inland along the Rangitata River Valley. Ash had been busting to see some Lord of the Rings film locations... as of yet we hadn't specifically visited one and this was our opportunity. As we drove along the unsealed, gravelly and pot-mark ridden roads the valley opened up magnificently to wide, flat plains surrounded by towering snow-capped mountains. 
In the middle of the huge valley was a large roche moutonnee, a rock hill shaped by a glacier, that was used as the set of Edoras in the Lord of the Rings. Ash having watched the film several times got very excited, but Bi amusingly remarked 'What... it's just that hill there?!'. We tried to drive down the valley and up to the hill but it soon became '4x4 only' territory as Ash started to drive through the riverbed! 
We decided to turn back, parked nearby and walked up to the hill (jumping over a few fences and crossing the odd stream along the way!). It was a stunning location and a worthy trip. From the valley we returned back to the main road and began our 2 hour journey eastwards to Christchurch, our final destination.After the tranquility and beauty of the countryside over our past few weeks in the South Island we both felt a bit disappointed as we drove into the city of Christchurch. It was 5ish in the evening and we had arrived into Christchurch a day ahead of our schedule. We still had two full days before our flight to Melbourne on Friday. We made a snap decision to skip the city and head somewhere more remote for our last few days. Bi grabbed the guidebook and randomly selected the small seaside village of Akaroa located at the tip of the Banks Peninsula about 85km from Christchurch. What a wonderful decision it was because Akaroa turned out to be one of the loveliest places we have visited and stayed on the South Island. The road to Akaroa was neverending as it sharply twisted and turned its way through steep rolling green hills and through a few remote, pretty villages. We started in daylight on what was a beautiful journey and finally descended steeply down into the seaside village just after dark. We had no accommodation booked and had our fingers and toes crossed that we could find somewhere to stay. There are many places which close for the winter here. The first place we tried had no vacancy so we tried our luck at a quaint and highly recommended little hostel across the road in the centre of the village. 
Thankfully they had one double room available and it was lovely, just like a charming English B&B so we grabbed it.. not that we could be fussy anyhow! The small hostel is located in a beautiful old colonial house and inside has a cosy little lounge with roaring log fire and well equipped kitchen. It was so quaint and if Bi could have moved in permanently she would have! The hostel and the village has such a lovely feel to it and it hits you immediately. We settled into our room, then starving hungry we cooked ourselves a hearty meal. We finished off the evening with a cup of tea and slab of fruit cake which Bi very happily ate while sat in bed with her hot water bottle and a pile of the latest gossip magazines that she had found on the bookshelf!
Thankfully they had one double room available and it was lovely, just like a charming English B&B so we grabbed it.. not that we could be fussy anyhow! The small hostel is located in a beautiful old colonial house and inside has a cosy little lounge with roaring log fire and well equipped kitchen. It was so quaint and if Bi could have moved in permanently she would have! The hostel and the village has such a lovely feel to it and it hits you immediately. We settled into our room, then starving hungry we cooked ourselves a hearty meal. We finished off the evening with a cup of tea and slab of fruit cake which Bi very happily ate while sat in bed with her hot water bottle and a pile of the latest gossip magazines that she had found on the bookshelf!
We woke the next morning to the aroma of fresh coffee but also to the sound of pelting rain and blustering winds. Both the North and South Islands are currently receiving a battering from exceptionally bad weather at the moment, the north in particular. However, we were so happy in our hostel and to be somewhere so peaceful and relaxing that we didn't mind one bit staying in by the fire most of the day. In fact it was a lovely way to finish a rather non-stop 5 weeks of travelling around New Zealand. 
We made our breakfast then grabbed a couple of umbrellas and went out for a walk along the village's main street which is lined with little artisian shops, a deli, a couple of grocery stores, a pub and a few restauraunts and a few coffee shops. After touring the shops (Bi naturally doing this in much more detail than Ash) we walked along the shorefront and around the small harbour up to the old lighthouse. We returned to the harbourfront for a lunch of fish and chips which we sat and ate under shelter, shared our chips with some very friendly little birds. 
Ash had the local blue cod and we shared a big bag of Kumura chips (sweet potato chips) which are the local speciality. With the rain deeply set in, we walked back to the hostel. It was too wet to attempt any of the local walks on offer so we decided to stay cosy and warm and spend the rest of the day by the fire. The hostel was full today so we swapped travel stories with the other guests, played scrabble and Ash even made us an apple crumble. It was a really nice way to spend a rainy afternoon...we absolutely love this place and this village and could happily spend much more time here.
