Things to do in Akaroa

Akaroa's history: Takapūneke, the Treaty and the French

The French story is the one on the postcards, but it is not the first. In 1830, at Takapūneke, just south of the present town, the British captain John Stewart carried the Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha and his warriors into the harbour on his brig Elizabeth, in exchange for a cargo of flax. They captured the local Kāi Tahu leader Te Maiharanui and killed or enslaved many of the people living there. The scandal it caused in Sydney and London was one of the reasons Britain moved towards the Treaty of Waitangi, and the site is now a reserve.

By 1840 a French whaling captain had bought what he believed was most of Banks Peninsula, and the Nanto-Bordelaise Company sent settlers to found a colony. Kāi Tahu chiefs had already signed the Treaty at Ōnuku, on the harbour, that May. The British, hearing the French were coming, sent HMS Britomart, which arrived on 16 August 1840 and raised the flag; the Comte de Paris sailed in a few days later with about 57 settlers, twelve of them German. They stayed anyway, under British rule, and called the place Port Louis-Philippe after their king. The streets still carry French names, Rue Lavaud and Rue Jolie among them, and the Akaroa Museum, open since 1964, tells both stories properly.

Harbour cruises and Hector's dolphins

Hector's dolphins are among the smallest dolphins in the world, grey with a rounded black dorsal fin like a Mickey Mouse ear, and found only in New Zealand. They live along this coast all year and come into Akaroa Harbour in numbers in summer, moving further offshore in winter. The waters around the peninsula are a marine mammal sanctuary for them, expanded in 2020. A harbour cruise sees them on most trips, along with New Zealand fur seals on the rocks near the heads, little penguins on the water and seabirds on the cliffs.

The nature cruise runs out to the harbour heads and back in about two hours. 12 of our itineraries book it with Black Cat, and 2 more come on a coach day tour from Christchurch with the cruise and lunch included. The dolphin swim is a different trip: you go in a wetsuit into cold water and the dolphins choose whether to come to you. It runs in the warmer months only, it depends on sea conditions, and it is on 6 of our itineraries. If you are a confident swimmer and do not mind the cold, it is one of the best wildlife encounters in the country.

Things to do in Akaroa

• Walk the waterfront: from the main wharf along Beach Road to the lighthouse at the southern end, then back and up to the old French cemetery on the hill at the northern end. An hour or so at a stroll.
• The Akaroa Museum: in the town centre, with period buildings alongside, covering Kāi Tahu, the French and the British settlers. The best hour in town if the weather turns.
• The Giant's House: a hillside garden above the town covered in mosaics and sculptures, made by the artist who lives there. People who dislike gardens tend to like this one.
• Pōhatu, or Flea Bay: a marine reserve on the outer coast of the peninsula, over a steep farm road, with colonies of penguins and fur seals. 1 of our itineraries take the evening tour by 4WD to watch the penguins come ashore.
• Walks above the town: tracks climb from the streets into the hills and the reserves around the crater rim. The views back over the harbour are worth the effort; the ascents are steep.
• Kayaking and paddleboarding: the upper harbour is sheltered, and on a calm day it is the quietest way to meet the dolphins, which sometimes come to look at kayaks.

Our guide to where to see whales, dolphins and penguins puts Akaroa's dolphins in context with Kaikōura, an easy pairing on the same side of the island.

The drive from Christchurch to Akaroa, and what to see on the way

It is 84 km on State Highway 75 and takes about an hour and a half. The first half is flat, out past Lake Ellesmere and through Little River, where the old railway line is now a cycle trail. Then the road climbs to Hilltop, on the rim of the old crater, and the whole of Akaroa Harbour opens up below. Stop at the lookout; it is the view people drive out for. The descent to Barrys Bay and round the harbour to Akaroa is winding, narrow and slow behind a campervan.

There is no public bus worth the name; the practical options are to drive, join a day tour from Christchurch, or take a shuttle. If you have a car and a spare hour, the Summit Road along the crater rim from Hilltop and the roads down to the outer bays are some of the best driving on the peninsula, but they are steep, narrow and partly gravel.

Day trip or overnight, and where to stay

A day trip works: leave Christchurch at eight, cruise late morning, lunch on the waterfront, back by evening. It is three hours of driving for four or five in the town, and the town is at its busiest in the middle of the day. A night changes it. The day visitors leave by five, the harbour goes still, and you get the evening light on the hills and a quiet morning for the swim or a walk. We think it is worth the night if the itinerary can spare it. Most of our itineraries that stay then head inland to the Mackenzie Country the next morning, going round Christchurch rather than through it.

Accommodation is small scale: motels, bed and breakfasts, holiday homes and a few apartments, and nothing large. Akaroa Waterfront Motels, on 10 of our itineraries, are on the harbour front, as the name says. Beaufort House takes 2, and the rest spread across the Akaroa Village Inn apartments, French Bay House and Tresori Motor Lodge. Book early for summer weekends, when Christchurch families fill the town. Tours through Akaroa start from NZ$2,795.

Akaroa weather and the best time to go

Akaroa is sheltered by the crater walls, with warm summers and cool, often calm winters. Summer, December to March, is the best time for the dolphins, which are in the harbour in the largest numbers, and the only time for the swim; it is also the busiest, with the school holidays and the cruise ships. Autumn is settled and quieter. Winter is cold on the water and some operators cut back their timetables, but the cruises run, the town is empty and the light on the hills is lovely. The easterly wind can make the heads rough on any day, so keep the afternoon free in case the morning cruise is swapped.