Feb 24th - Hanmer Springs (Be Yourself and Change the World!)

After catching the water taxi back to Kaiteriteri we headed off to our next destination - which was Hanmer Springs. This is a Spa town - the proud possessor of hot thermal springs smelling of rotten eggs as they inevitably do. We were booked into the 'Mountain View Masssage and Wellness Retreat' which sounded very grand. So having travelled through more dramatic scenery, mixed weather and spectacular mountain passes we arrived in town. I spotted a 'Harrogate Drive' as we drove through - but this place was more Twin Peaks than Yorkshire. Assuming that our destination would be obvious with such an imposing title we drove around thinking we must come across it soon. We scanned the names of the many grand properties we passed but no joy.  After a lot of kerb crawling we decided to consult the ipad. We followed the directions on the website back out of town and discovered that our destination was in fact a private bungalow in a quiet residential area. We were a bit concerned - but once we were shown our rooms we realised we had landed on our feet. The accomodation was top class - and tickets to the hot springs plus massages and breakfast were included in our price. I'm sorry to say, dear reader, that I did not have a massage - just not my thing. But everyone else obviously enjoyed theirs. The place was run by an Irish lady called Mary Jo and it was all very New Age - crystals a-go-go. Their motto is 'Be Yourself - and Change the World'. If only it was that simple! OK so I'm a dreadful old cynic - but the Mountain View tag was entirely justified.

In the evening we went for dinner in town which was excellent and then we squeezed in half an hour in the sulphur pools which were very pleasant at 42 degrees under the starry skies (hem hem). Friday dawns and it is Rick's birthday. So after an extra long massage (for him) we head off once again to Christchurch to pick up our van. On the way, we encounter a vineyard called 'Mud House' that Rick and Judi recognise as one of the better ones so we stop for a tasting. 

They try the Chardonnays but I am more interested in the Pinot Noir. Rick and Judi don't like the Chardonnays but I buy six bottles of Pinot Noir which we are now enjoying in our van at the Peel Forest campsite somewhere off Highway 72. On the way we encountered a spectacular hail storm with hailstones like frozen peas - a reminder of the fact that the weather is serious here.