Hanmer Springs and Kaikoura

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So lovely to sleep properly in a bed! After very little sleep in the last 24 hours Bernie slept like the dead and I slept OK. I was awake about 3.30am, which is pretty normal for me, but then went straight back to sleep until about 6.40am. This morning we made ourselves a light breakfast in our room with the fruit, cereal and yoghurt we purchased at the supermarket yesterday afternoon.

After said breakfast we re-packed the car and set the SatNav for Hanmer Springs. We were on the road just after 8.00am which was a little earlier than we needed to be, but it’s always better to be ahead of schedule than behind. Our trip up to Hanmer Springs was uneventful apart from some roadworks and a shower of rain.

It was just after 10.00am when we arrived in Hanmer Springs which left us with about three quarters of an hour to fill before our allotted time at The Spa. We walked up the street checking out some potential lunch ideas as we went. After walking back on the other side of the street it was close enough to our appointment time to head into The Spa. Bernie pre-filled our health questionnaires on-line yesterday so all we had to do was check the info and sign them. With the paperwork sorted we were given towels, robes, slippers and locker keys before being directed to the locker room to prepare for our session in one of the private hot pools. We were escorted to the pool by a lady with Lifeguard printed on the back of her shirt which seemed a bit OTT? I guess it was reassuring to know that there was someone who could perform first aid if one of us passed out in the hot pool??!

After a lovely half hour soak it was time to return to the locker room to take off our wet togs and exchange those for dry underwear before donning our robes again to wait in the lounge for our masseurs. A lovely relaxing 50 minute massage followed. So relaxing, in fact, that I may have snored (just a little bit!) near the end of my treatment.

Feeling very loosened up it was time to shower and change back into our street clothes and return to the real world. It was a good thing that we booked our treatment in the morning because the hot springs and spa were much busier as we were leaving than when we had arrived at about 10.00am. The school group that had arrived to use the hot springs is probably what made it seem especially busy. All those school children yahooing around in their excitement at being out on an excursion.

We walked back to PJ’s Pie Caravan because when we walked past this morning we thought the pies looked delicious. On closer inspection it was very difficult to decide just which gourmet pie to buy because they all sounded excellent. In the end we both went with the relatively conservative steak and cheese option which we ate on a park bench surrounded by sparrows who were gobbling up the crumbs that we dropped.

Back at the car we set the SatNav for Kaikoura. Coming to Hanmer Springs was a bit of a diversion so there was nothing for it but to back track until we reached the turn-off for the Flintoft Mouse Point Road. This took us up over the mountains heading towards the east coast. At Ferniehurst we turned onto Highway No. 1, the main route along the eastern side of NZ and finally reached the coast at Oaro. The weather on the east of the mountains was much clearer and sunnier and we enjoyed a picturesque drive up the coast to Kaikoura.

We got to within two minutes of our destination and then we had to wait for ages due to the roadworks just to the south of Kaikoura! Finally we made it into town and found our way to the supermarket to purchase some breakfast supplies for tomorrow morning. Then we cruised the Esplanade looking for the Anchor Inn Motel. Hmmn, we drove all the way to the end of the Esplanade with no sign of the Anchor Inn. Bernie dug out the paperwork so we could check what number we were looking for. A-ha, when we found it the problem was that their sign is in the process of being replaced so … there was no sign! And, somehow, we completely missed the HUGE rusty anchor in the front of the motel.

All checked in and luggage unloaded we drove out to the Peninsula Seal Colony. This site is fairly exposed so breeding seals tend to raise their pups at other more sheltered beaches along the coast. The seals here are mostly immature or older seals but the signs warned that just because they don’t have pups to protect doesn’t mean they won’t be aggressive towards humans if they venture too close! We had to hike around over the rocks a bit, but we eventually found a dozen or so seals basking in the afternoon sun.

With out sightseeing done for the day we returned to the motel to unload our cameras before walking along to the Pier Hotel for dinner. When Bernie was checking their website last week it recommended booking. So glad Bernie booked a table because they were turning people away. The restaurant specializes in seafood so we splurged a bit and shared a seafood platter and a (very) small half a crayfish.



Steps for the day: 13,352 (9.10km)

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