Wednesday – Hamner Springs

We darted off our hotel with the intention of having some fun for us and the kids. We headed straight for Hamner Springs. Known for their geothermally heated pools, we drove up there as fast as we could. The drive took about 2 hours but was well worth it. We had a quick breakfast at a charming little cafe. The charming price tag was about $54 NZD for breakfast! We then sprinted into the hot springs. The place is marvelous. We started with a private pool (very hot) for ourselves and the kids to unwind. After our 1/2 hour was up we headed to some of the other pools. Very hot pools, stinky (sulfur) pools, small pools, kids waterslide and playland pools, and such.7373

Everyone had a great time. While the kids played, I snuck away for a quick 1/2 massage at the spa. After spending most of the day here, we picked up some souveniers and headed back to Christchurch. Along the drive back, we stopped at a couple of vineyards and sampled some wine. We stopped at Canterbury House Winery and Pegasus Way Vineyard. We picked up four bottles (two at each) of some very tasty wine. We ended the day with dinner at a place called Vic & Whales. The food was ok (nothing spectacular) but that’s how most of the food here has been. Everything is quite expensive. Dinner for four tonight was $100 NZD.7339