Day 10- Kaikoura to Hanmer Springs

We said goodbye to East Coast and the Pacific ocean and headed inland to Hanmer Springs. The road was pretty, but lots of mountain curves and single lane bridges. Some of the campsites we have stayed at have been busy, but no where close to being sold out. However, Hamner Springs only had 2 sites left and we got one of them. It’s Easter Weekend, so everyone flocks here or to the coast for their 4-day holiday. It’s a good thing we got in early. THE thing to do here is to do nothing but relax in the natural thermal pools. Matt found it hard to believe that all we had to do today was sit in a huge thermal spring surrounded by mountains.

The pools varied in temperature from 36c to 41c. The hottest we went to was 39c. Anything hotter than that was “People Soup.” While soaking we chatted up a couple from Toranto, Canada. They were married 5 years ago and their wedding photographer accidentally erased all their wedding photos from the memory card and did not have the images backed up. They have no wedding photos and it took 8 months to get their money refunded. What a horror story! We soaked in the thermal baths for 2 hours and then walked back to the camper for an exciting early evening date doing laundry. Might go back late tonight. There are no photos of today’s activities because neither of us wanted to bring camera gear inside and keep an eye on it. You can check out the thermal springs here: www.hanmersprings.co.nz