Lyttleton and Akaroa

Here are the girl guides in Lyttleton selling their biscuits! Wonderful, just like our Girl Scout cookies, only more crisp. And, here is a picture of the fruit (for Jordan and Carlye) at the Lyttleton Farmer's Market. A wonderful small market, but with everything you might want or need to eat healthy and happy for a week. There is fresh corn, tomatoes, lettuces, kumara (yams), capacin (bell peppers), potatoes, etc, etc. Also, fresh fish, Bluff oysters, farm-raised beef and lamb, and all the wonderful baked bread and pastries to last a life time.

The long-view on the right is just west of Lyttleton, still in the harbour, which reaches very far into the interior of the Banks Penisula. It is picturesque when you get away from the port of Lyttleton and the container ship port. Lyttleton., below, is an old port town, and obviously has some Art Deco architecture. (This layout is driving me nuts! I don't have much control over where the picture go.)

The Little Bistro is where we had a wonderful lunch in Akaroa, which is a French settled town on the far southeast end of the Banks Peninsula about 45 miles south of Christ Church. All of the roads have French names, and there are lovely cafes and small galleries down on the waterfront, small Victorian cottage homes with gardens, and another long protected harbour. Bill had lamb stew with brown rice and lentils and fresh greens, and I had an incredible seafood chowder made with green lipped mussels, shrimp, gurnard (fish), and a butter/cream sauce with saffron and fresh English peas and carrots. The bread was home-baked with green olives and herbs. It's all fresh and freshly prepared. You eat well in NZ.

We came back, after being slowed by the Kiwi moving van, above. Then, took a long walk through the Christ Church botanical gardens to work off some calories! We are having fresh pears, fresh rye bread, cheese, and Girl Guide Biscuits with wine for supper in our room this evening. You'd all love it!