Here’s another set of comparison photos – this time from Akaroa, our wedding venue in April 2018 and where we spent Christmas 2003.

I am writing this on 1 April 2020. On this day in history my family was 36,000 ft up in the air, on our way to New Zealand. Had we projected ourselves into the future, we would have thought it an April Fool’s joke that 95% of flights from the UK are now grounded. We all know why and I am not going to mention the C word.

I have mixed feelings about flying: it’s great that a plane got us to New Zealand but I disapprove of the flying I have done in the past and wish that it did not cause such damage to the planet and our future. I love the fact that at the moment there are so few planes polluting the atmosphere and marring the pure blue sky with vapour trails. We have all got used to flying, it’s almost like using the bus. Yet frequent flyers are just a small percentage of the population and this is not supposed to be an environmentalist rant about air travel. I just thought I would have a guilty moment.

The small township of Akaroa is a unique place with contradictions: its name is Maori but it has a Gallic flavour thanks to its nineteenth century French settlers; Akaroa is hidden away in a wild area of the Banks Peninsula, a long drive from Christchurch, but it has become a busy tourist attraction in the summer months.

As long ago as 1850, tourism was developing. The town’s museum reveals Akaroa as being dubbed ‘a fashionable watering place’ and later, being given many names such as ‘The Playground of Canterbury.’

Staying on the Top 10 Holiday Park in 2003, we met people of diverse nationalities. Spending Christmas on a holiday park was a novelty, as was spending Christmas in the sun.

Our pitch overlooked Akaroa Harbour, the site of ancient, extinct volcanoes. From our elevated position the views were extensive, with Akaroa tucked in the crook of the harbour, its colourful houses straggling up into the hills and white boats moored out in the still waters.

We had come here to do swimming with dolphins, one of many outdoor activities provided, you can also try kayaking, sailing or go on a nature safari. Not to mention walking in the area near Akaroa which has quirky place names like Purple Peak Curry Reserve, Murderer’s Gully, Full Moon Bluff, Fantail Falls and Sleepy Bay.

Romantic, historic, dramatic, no wonder we loved the place and wanted to come back to get married here. Another contradiction: Henry and I had our wedding day in autumn, yet back home we celebrate our anniversary in spring. Autumn in New Zealand can offer up some lovely sunny days, but often accompanied by a cool wind; especially at the coast and the further south you go.

In the 1830s, French whalers stopped at this port. A whaling pot is displayed on the waterfront.

Although they may have still been able to fit inside, I don’t think it was going to happen with our two adult children, despite Akaroa being nearly deserted.

Free advert for the restaurant on her T-shirt.

The restaurant Le Jardin had changed to The Brasserie. I can’t vouch for the food, which in 2003 was excellent for vegetarians. The garden was once full of charming oddities, like a full-sized door to nowhere and a fairy in a hollow tree. The latest restaurant seemed more sanitized from what I could see.

Here we have a town full of eccentricities: the artist for posing next to, still the same but dolly doing a bungy jump has been replaced by a Bionicle man.

Spot Bionicle Man if you can… the boots are more visible.