Within walking distance
- The wharf
- Four minutes. Swim off the end in summer — colder than it looks, warmer than you fear.
- The Saturday market
- Small, good bread, occasional live accordion. Eight until noon.
- The lighthouse
- Twenty minutes along the front. Worth it near sunset, and the walk back is flat.
- The Giant’s House
- A mosaic garden that is far stranger and better than the name suggests.
Worth the drive
- Flea Bay
- White-flippered penguins, if you are patient and quiet. Book the walk ahead in summer.
- The Summit Road
- Half an hour of hairpins and an hour of views. Not for anyone prone to car sickness.
- Okains Bay
- The beach people mean when they say they found a beach to themselves.
- Ōnuku Marae
- Worth reading about before you go, rather than after.
Eating
- Little Bistro — book ahead, always
- Bully Hayes — on the water, good at lunch
- The Brasserie — quieter, reliable
- Akaroa Butchery — for the drive home
Getting here
- 75 minutes from Christchurch
- 90 from the airport
- The last 20 minutes are windy
- Fuel up in Little River