Thermal pools at Hanmer Springs

---

The plan today was to travel all the way from Kaikoura to the West Coast to the Franz Joseph Glacier.

We set off in speedy little Cherry and made our way down the roads by the side of the ocean keeping our eyes peeled for the acrobatic dusky dolphins or the rare Hectors dolphins that are often spotted close to the shore.

There were a few false alarms when one of us saw something interesting bobbing around in the water and we hastily pulled into a layby and leapt out of the car - but alas these were always rocks or seaweed. Oh dear.

We drove on for a couple of hours and made our way through the Lewis Pass where there were snow capped mountains on either side of us. Very beautiful - and although the road was clear, it was all frosty at each side, so it glittered as we drove past which was very pretty.

After a few hours of driving we pulled in to Hanmer Springs Village, which is a ski resort, with cosy log cabins dotted around and people wandering around with skies and jump suits on.

The springs were found in 1859 by William Jones who was the manager of a local sheep run. Labouring convicts planted the many surrounding trees in the early 1900s and the area now comprises the largest range of exotic trees in New Zealand!

Hanmer Springs is know to the Maori people as 'a place to ease your aches and pains away after overland travel', which is exactly what Bean and I chose to do!

There were about 15 outdoor thermal pools consisting of fresh water, salt water and sulphur pools of varying temperatures.

It was freezing outside and Bean and I were very dubious about stripping down to bikinis in the snow but the steam rising from the pools made it very inviting so we quickly got changed and scampered quickly to the closest pool we could find. It was lovely as we slid in and felt the cold air all around us whilst we were all toasty and warm in the pool, although Bean did comment that she felt like she was sitting in communal luke-warm bath water so I don't think that pool impressed her too much...

We decided we wanted to find a hotter pool so we plotted a quick route out: (wet bodies + icy air = not very nice at all). Bean went first and being the typical clumsy oaf that she is, manged to scramble out by the rocks only to tumble backwards into the pool, dragging her warm soft towel down with her. I watched on in amusement as she thrashed around like a dying fish trying to get her towel out. Only you dear Bean.

So, that was the first 5 minutes and Bean had to drag her dripping (now iced over) towel around with her for the rest of the hour. Hehee. (I kept my warm towel cosily wrapped around me). We ventured into a few more pools and ended up in the hottest sulphur pool (we're now getting very tolerant to the smell!) which was 40 degrees.

We relaxed in here for about 20 minutes and then felt we should get moving as we had a long drive still ahead.

We continued on our scenic drive through the mountains and as we reached the West Coast, the sun was setting so we puled up to 'Ross Beach' and sat and watched it go down, which was really pretty.

We arrived in Franz Joesph at about 7pm and found a bustling hostel where we had to share a room with 2 smelly boys who were drying their smelly pants on the radiators. Mmm lovely! We scarpered quickly to the nearby bar and gobbled down some potato wedges and orange juice (hardcore - we know) and then made hot water bottles and went to bed all ready for a big day on the ice! Woohoo!

---