Akaroa - New Year

An amazing cottage in the grounds of Michellse's hobby farm, which we found on the internet and booked before we left Australia. The ground floor had an alcove with a large double bed, a spacious open plan living area with two lounges and fireplace, dining area, and kitchenette. A bathroom and a second single bedroom, then there was a loft area reached by a ladder in the lounge room -- the kids loved this. Our accommodation was well appointed and attention to detail was excellent. In fact, we were sorry to only be spending one night as we passed through the area.

There were welcoming animals and a lovely garden that you were free to use making everyone feel relaxed. If the weather had been warmer, there was also a pool.

Michelle was the best host and the included breakfast the next morning was superb and very large.

Best Things Nearby:
Beautiful harbour with nature cruises 5 minutes' walk from the timeshare. Excellent bakery, coffee shops with outdoor eating areas, and a homemade fudge factory, which is addictive, especially since they give tasting samples.

Best Things About the Resort:
Small complex with only four two-story townhouses - very private. Well-appointed with private balcony and garden overlooking the harbour. Both bedrooms and main bathroom large, separate laundry, and a second bathroom. Full kitchen with dishwasher. Kayaks to take paddling on the harbour and pushbikes for those willing to tackle the hills after the first attempt even the kids opted for foot. Right at the end of the main street so everything was within walking distance. On the upstairs balcony off the kitchen and lounge area is a barbecue (gas) which was very useful during our stay.

Resort Experience:
This is a very relaxed timeshare that's excellent for unwinding. It is close enough to Christchurch to allow you to drive there if you want a city day, though most of the time there is plenty to keep you occupied in the general vicinity of the townhouses. The managers were extremely welcoming and helpful.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Not Available
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

This was a surprise in a small country town, except that at certain times of the year, Wakefield attracts many white water rafters. It was a combination of the local pizza restaurant with some very upmarket-style main course dishes yet for a reasonable price. An excellent choice for a mixed family group -- while the kids had pizza, the adults munched on excellent examples of lamb rib cutlets served on pasta with pistachio sauce and perfectly cooked grilled sirloins. The restaurant was also licensed and you could buy Montana wines by the glass.

Excellent learning centre with a lot of information geared to all ages. Lots of hands on exhibits. The only downside is don't pay the exorbitant price for the ride on the snow machine--definitely not worth it.

Ferry Mead is a working museum. It is run by various volunteer groups who are collecting, restoring, and preserving examples of their particular area of interest. It has excellent examples of townships with houses and shops fitted out to show how people lived. There is a an old penny theatre, printers, large tram, carriage, stables, and plane museum. The tram takes you around the park as part of your entry ticket -- complete with appropriately dressed driver/conductor and you are free to get on and off at various stops along the way.

The people in the rebuilding areas of the air museum and the tram museum are very happy to show people around the current projects and it is very interesting to see how much work goes into the restoration of one of their exhibits. The dedication of these people who volunteer their time and money to give others enjoyment and maintain a piece of history is amazing and deserves to be supported.

There is a large music/radio exhibit complete with working community radio station. We only stumbled on this by accident -- it is not a major commercial operation and is a conglomerate of various volunteer groups and as such has not got a large advertising dollar. It is manned by volunteers so can be quiet mid week. Well worth a visit even then, but when fully staffed at busy periods of the year, seeing everyone in appropriate costume would be well worth the visit.

We arrived in this small French provincial seaside resort 1 hour from Christchurch expecting a laid back week to recover from a hectic Christmas. To our amazement the main park on the waterfront hosted a huge free New Year's Eve concert complete with bands and fireworks. As the park was only a block from the townhouse where we were staying, we had live music while we ate dinner and then wandered down to the celebrations in time for the massive fireworks display.