"Swimming with dolphins" Akaroa by knerten

Akaroa - a small town south of Christchurch, actually an early French colony, before the English got the upper hand on NZ. I went there with some friends to do one of NZ's famous tourist attractions, swimming with dolphins, but when we got there, the boat manager told us that the sea swell (out where the dolphins were) was too high, so we did a hillwalk instead. Apart from the dolphins, some nice streetside cafes, and walking the hills, there's really not much about this town, but it's a lovely place anyway.

According to a local we spoke to, the hills used to be heavily forested, but the early settlers (1840 and onward) cut the trees to make room for farmland, and the grazing sheep did the rest, I guess.

What amazes me is how green this part of NZ is despite the fact that it's now the middle of winter. You have naked trees which have shed their leaves, yes, but there's plenty of evergreen trees and shrubs and bushes to make up for that. Coming from Europe, having barely had a chance to enjoy my summer, I am relieved to see that winter in NZ isn't THAT bad after all.

• In a nutshell:Worth the trip