Day 34 Akaroa

Today we were awakened by the sound of buses arriving on the waterfront in Akaroa. Two cruise ships had arrived in the harbour in the early morning and now it was time for the people to get their tours etc. Akoroa was a happening place today!. We went for a hike before our kayak trip to get a view of the town from above. See the low hanging branch in the photo... Mabel forgot to duck and landed on her back.. Thankfully all ok.. Never a dull moment !
In the afternoon we were picked up in a 4 wheel drive van to drive us to Flea Bay for our Kayak adventure. The drive itself was an experience as we climbed out of town on a steep paved road which soon turned to gravel and maybe one lane wide so we drove basically along the edge of a cliff all the way to the top of the mountain then all the way down to the bay. The kayaks were on a private piece of land owned by a conservationist. We spent about 2 hours out on the bay watching the wildlife, mostly seals and many types of birds and sheep and enjoying the swells as we left the bay and entered the ocean.
The penguins are out to sea in March after their breeding season but we did get to see a couple that had been rescued from the ocean... the one you see in the bucket was born without eyes !