Scratching the Surface

“No, you can’t do New Zealand in a week,” is what a travel writer friend told The National’s Rosemary Behan when she was invited on a seven-day whirlwind tour of both islands. Behan describes her brief stop in the “gorgeous little town” of Akaroa. “The dainty harbourside is backed by several streets made up of colourful and historic weatherboarded houses set in pretty gardens; there are museums, shops, cafes and art galleries. I take a cruise around the almost impossibly scenic harbour. I see pods of Hector dolphins, penguins, seagulls, fur seals, cormorants and shearwaters, despite the heavy dark clouds that descend on the brooding cliffs either side of the mile-wide harbour.”