I know, I should be all tough after surviving New Hampshire winters, but I was still freezing when wearing three layers to bed *haha*
There was hot water, though, so I took a nice hot shower in the morning, dressed in the dark (because everyone was sleeping at 7am). I needed to get up early, because I had scheduled a tour to Akaroa!
The "Saints & Sinners" bar magically transforms into a breakfast place in the morning. They offer an "all-you-can-eat continental breakfast" for 7 NZD (about 5.30 USD).
The breakfast turned out to be toast with jam or butter, three kinds of cereal, and peach slices and fruit salad out of a can. But 7 NZD for all-you-can-eat is not bad, especially after I saw the prices at some cafes (20 NZD breakfast, anyone?).
I walked to the Convention Centre (just 5 minutes from the backpackers place - cool!) and met up with my tour group.
Akaroa (Wikipedia)
I had booked a tour to Akaroa, a little harbor village south of Christchurch. Originally, Akaroa was founded by the French, but the British were quicker in declaring sovereignty over the area. Today, there is still a lot of French influence in the town (some restaurants and streets still have French names).
"Akaroa" is Maori for "long harbor."
The drive to Akaroa took us about 1.5 hours, through lots of mountains and empty land. There were a lot of sheep and cows, but few towns. (By the way, these were the first sheep and cows I had seen in NZ so far, because Auckland is so big and I had never made it out of the city that far!)
On the way, we stopped at a little cheese factory.
We got to taste the cheese in the little shop, where they also sold chocolate and wine.
I almost did buy a piece, because the cheese tasted so good, but I didn't really have a place to put it in the hostel.
After some more windy roads across the mountains (some people looked a little green in the face) we made it to Akaroa.
Part of the tour was a harbor cruise, but as soon as we stepped on the ship, it started raining :( By now, it had also gotten pretty cold, so we all hurried inside the ship.
The captain of the ship doubled as a tour guide, as he steered us through the harbor (if I remember correctly, it's almost 2 km long - that's why it's called the "long harbor") and out into the pacific. He had some interesting stories to tell, some historic facts and folk lore about the area, and facts about the animals.
Unfortunately, we did not see a Hectors Dolphin (rare, small dolphins you can only see along the coast of New Zealand) or penguins. We did see a lot of birds, some seals chilling out on the rocks, a Paua farm (the shells of these mollusks are blue and shiny, and are often used for crafts and jewellery), and a salmon farm.
After two hours in the cold, though, we were all eager to get back to shore and get a warm lunch.
I sat at a table with three other people, all biologists attending the Evolution conference. We had about 1.5 hours to eat and explore the village a little bit.
After lunch, when I was dry and warm again, I took a walk outside. I found the usual touristy souvenir shops, and looked at the waterfront and the historic light house.
Back in Christchurch, I checked in for the conference. Everyone got a messenger bag full of goodies (the program, a name tag, advertisements for products every biologist absolutely needs, etc).
I went back to "base" and changed into dry clothes for the opening ceremony. All the girls in my room, I found out, also attended the conference, so we walked back together.
The opening ceremony mainly consisted of appetizers, free beer and wine, and speeches. A Maori dance group performed traditional songs and the "haka", which is a traditional dance.
Some of my friends from the lab left early to go to a pub with a TV, because the All Blacks were playing against Canada. Of course they won (64-13). I stopped by the pub on my way back and watched the end of the game (I still don't understand the rules, but I have to admit, I am not too interested in them, either ;-) ).
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