Just as the English heritage perseveres in Christchurch, so does a whiff of Frenchness in Akaroa, Canterbury’s oldest town set on the eastern side of Akaroa Harbour on Banks Peninsula.

First sighted by Captain James Cook on his Endeavour voyage in 1770m, it was French settlers, who, unaware that the British had signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, arrived here on the Comte de Paris later that same year with high hopes of establishing a French colony.

Their hopes dashed when they learned that the British had already proclaimed sovereignty over New Zealand, most decided to make this their home anyway. Almost 200 years later little true French heritage remains, but Akaroa celebrates la belle vie nonetheless – the French street names, the Tricolore flapping in the sea breeze, and restaurants with names like Ma Maison serving Kiwi cuisine with a French twist.

It’s little more than a marketing ploy and touristy but nonetheless charming. And successful. Akaroa is the port of call for almost a hundred cruise ships every season (October – April) and with the arrival of each ship about 5000 passengers and crew swamp this little seaside town of 600.

Try to time your visit to not coincide with the arrival of one of these cruise ships, which in peak season will admittedly not be easy.

Also, you don’t want to be driving on the narrow winding road between Akaroa Village and Christchurch when coaches shuttle thousands of passengers back and forth. Luckily, it’s easy to escape the crowds when you’re exploring the more remote corners of Banks Peninsula on one of the walking and hiking tracks running through the Hinewai and Purple Peak nature reserves. Both are beautiful restoration projects looked after by the Maurice White Native Forest Trust and accessible by trails that start in the village centre of Akaroa.

The peninsula is almost round in shape and protrudes into the Pacific Ocean just south of Christchurch. It was an island once, made up of several ancient volcanoes, but annexed by the mainland when the Canterbury Plains extended eastwards.

Erosion then sculpted these volcanoes into rugged valleys with sharp ridgelines and a beautiful jagged coastline. The barren terrain with little native vegetation allows sweeping views over the peninsula and the ocean but is a sad example of the effects of colonialism on New Zealand’s native vegetation.

When European settlers arrived in the mid 19th century, the peninsula was densely forested. A few decades later and commercial logging operations and farming had decimated all but less than 1% of the forest. Nowadays, the regeneration and protection of native vegetation in different stages of development is being actively managed by a trust on Hinweai and Purple Peak reserves.