Bouncing around Hanmer Springs
(19th - 21st December)
The next morning we got up, and were looking forward to driving through Arthur's Pass. Apparently this is one of the most scenic drives in NZ and links the East & West Coasts over a dramatic mountain range pass.
So what a surprise when it started raining, again! This was probably the worst precipitation we'd endured at this point - we could see nothing. We struggled enough to see the car in front. I even had to use foglights. At one point, I took a turn off the road to go see a 'lookout' and couldn't even see the road to the lookout, let alone any view at the other end.
What should've been an amazing drive, was actually one of the most stressful yet. We stopped off for a quick snack in a cafe, met Murray from Flight of the Conchords (it wasn't THE Murray, but it sounded just like him and he had similar mannerisms), and then decided we would go to Hanmer Springs. We were deciding between there and the coast beyond Christchurch that we'd originally missed. When the rain kept coming, we decided that some thermal pools may be just the ticket, and these are in supply at Hanmer Springs thankfully.
We headed straight off to the thermal pools the next day, after staying at another campsite where we didn't get the best vibe. The pools were amazing. We thought they'd be really expensive, judging from our trip to Bath's pools earlier in the year. However, we were pleasantly surprised that it was less than £15 for the two of us, and there were no time limits imposed. We lounged around in pools ranging from 35 degrees all the way to thermal pools at 42 degrees (too hot for me). We spent most of the day there and thankfully there weren't too many kids around yet. Eventually we decided we should probably leave before the smell of egg (sulphur) was permanently attached to our shrivelled up skins.
The next morning we got up, and were looking forward to driving through Arthur's Pass. Apparently this is one of the most scenic drives in NZ and links the East & West Coasts over a dramatic mountain range pass.
So what a surprise when it started raining, again! This was probably the worst precipitation we'd endured at this point - we could see nothing. We struggled enough to see the car in front. I even had to use foglights. At one point, I took a turn off the road to go see a 'lookout' and couldn't even see the road to the lookout, let alone any view at the other end.
What should've been an amazing drive, was actually one of the most stressful yet. We stopped off for a quick snack in a cafe, met Murray from Flight of the Conchords (it wasn't THE Murray, but it sounded just like him and he had similar mannerisms), and then decided we would go to Hanmer Springs. We were deciding between there and the coast beyond Christchurch that we'd originally missed. When the rain kept coming, we decided that some thermal pools may be just the ticket, and these are in supply at Hanmer Springs thankfully.
We headed straight off to the thermal pools the next day, after staying at another campsite where we didn't get the best vibe. The pools were amazing. We thought they'd be really expensive, judging from our trip to Bath's pools earlier in the year. However, we were pleasantly surprised that it was less than £15 for the two of us, and there were no time limits imposed. We lounged around in pools ranging from 35 degrees all the way to thermal pools at 42 degrees (too hot for me). We spent most of the day there and thankfully there weren't too many kids around yet. Eventually we decided we should probably leave before the smell of egg (sulphur) was permanently attached to our shrivelled up skins.
posted by wobblepop at 2:31 am
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