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Published: April 3rd 2011
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Day 20 – Saturday the 2nd of April
Our last day of honeymooning had arrived much sooner than we had anticipated; thankfully it was going to be a relaxing and enjoyable day. Hanmer springs was the perfect way to end a honeymoon, we had planned it so well.
What we didn’t think about was the fact it was a Saturday and the pools were packed. It’s apparently a popular place for christchurchers to come to in the weekends and with the recent earthquake, probably a lot more a needing an escape than usual. It didn’t dampen our day though. The pools were heavenly. We tried most and a few were visited a bit more frequently than others. The 3 hot spas were sulphur and stunk like Rotorua and about 5 of the other pools were thermal, with 6 or so pools chlorine. The thermal where were we spent most of our time and one pool had rock like side rivers that were very private for happy honeymooners to escape to. One of the rivers found us with another family from Christchurch with a very chatty but cute little 3 year old Ella.
At around 5.30pm we said goodbye
Matt's Blue Cod
Moroccan spiced Blue cod on garlic stir-fried veges - Beautiful!!!!! to the relaxing thermal pools and had to head back to our camper to pack up our camper that has been our home for the past 3 weeks.
Dinner was next on the agenda so we wandered the quaint little town of Hanmer, which is becoming more and more like Queenstown, with tourists buzzing the streets. We had been recommended a few restaurants by a lady at Forrest Vineyard and the campsite owners had a few to add to the list. We checked them all out but settled on a place called Malabar. The menu sounds very new agey with a European twist on Indian food or an Indian twist on European food, whichever way you want to look at it. We booked it for an 8.30pm dinner, which gave us plenty of time to pack, shower and get ready, as we still had the stench of Rotorua imbedded in our skin.
The walk up to the town centre was nice, it was more of a gentle stroll and we made the restaurant just before time. Our table was ready and waiting. Right in front of the window, the perfect spot. We ordered a bottle of wine and
looking over the table longingly at each other.........but really. The meals were the perfect size and had both of us clean each of our 3 course plates. The only restaurant where we have managed to eat everything. The food was AMAZING......competes with Fleur’s and Flame! All courses were noteworthy and some really stood out. The staff were great, our waiter is an EX-Aucklander living the lifestyle many others only crave after. He calls the style of food they cook a fusion of Indian and European. The perfect way to explain it! The chef and Maitre’d are the owners and you can clearly see their passion in the food. We were very impressed and decided we really did choose the perfect restaurant to end our honeymoon with.
The walk back.....not so nice.....freezing cold and it was more of a brisk walk than the gentle stroll.
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