Little Lolly's Small Adventures: At anchor; Akaroa, New Zealand. Excursion: Jetboating on Akaroa Harbour.

The Maasdam dropped her anchor in the lovely bay just off Akaroa. The weather was overcast to start off with but the sun managed to break through later on during the day.

There was another cruise ship anchored, a smaller one compared to the Maasdam. We were glad because a big cruise ship could have caused chaos for the small town.

I was excited for my tour even though it was going to be a short one. As soon as the ship had been cleared, the tender process got underway. My small group of 6 was soon on a tender and we headed to the pier where we met by our guide/pilot, Brett. A short walk down the road and we found ourselves at the jetboat's office, getting spray jackets and life-jackets. After a safety briefing we were good to go.

Inside Cathedral cave

Two teenage guests sat in the front of the jetboat with Brett and were strapped to their seats with seat-belts. A guest and I were allocated seats behind them and the girl's parents were seated behind me. Only the front seats had seat-belts, the rest didn't but there were bars to hold on to for our high speed adventure.

Our guide soon had us speeding through the waters, past the ship and towards the mouth of the bay were we were able to see Dan Rogers Bluff, Nikau Palm Gully and were able to get into Cathedral cave because the tide was low enough. We then crossed to the other side of the bay where we saw salmon and abalone farms; and a small bay where there had been a military base that made floating mines during WWII.

Salmon and abalone farms

Before heading back to the pier Brett did a few spins in the water – with the guests’ permission. We got a bit wet but it was fantastic. The guests were thrilled to bits and exhilarated. Brett would always warn us when he was going to spin the boat so that we were prepared and had time to grip the handle bars in front of us. As we did spins everything got wetter and wetter and I found myself losing my grip, so much so that I was nearly tipped out of the boat. I wouldn't have minded if I had landed 'in the drink' as it would have been part and parcel of the fun. Unfortunately I wrenched my finger during that spin and it was left quite sore. The next spins Brett did, I anchored my foot firmly against the side of the boat and turned towards the boat's centre during the spin. This left me with less chance of being flung overboard although a guest behind me said he was at the ready to catch my collar if I flew past him!

We arrived at the jetty feeling elated and exhilarated even though we were a bit damp.

The guests headed into Akaroa to explore the town but I took a tender back to the ship. After a quick catch-up with Paul, Christina from the ship's shops and I took a tender across to Akaroa and had a nice wander around the small village. Christina and fish and chips for lunch and I had some calamari. Yum. We sat on a bench overlooking the bay with seagulls eyeballing our meal and hoping for a morsel or a fallen titbit. They were rewarded with a few chips at the end of our meal. With a bit of time before the last tender back to the ship, Christina and I took a wander around the shops in Akaroa. Needless to say she ended up getting a lovely red sunhat and, from an arts and crafts market, handmade soaps on a rope. The soaps smelt really lovely and will scent her bathroom or cabin quite nicely if she hangs them up.

With time marching on, Christina and I caught a tender back to the ship. An hour or so later the Maasdam raised her anchor and headed out of the bay.

New Year's celebrations are starting but Paul and I are very tired. I doubt we will stay up to see the new year in. On top of it Paul has an early start for tomorrow's arrival in Wellington.

May 2018 be a good year for everyone.

PHOTOGRAPHS