Days 100 to 102, Hanmer Springs
It rained all day on 30th and in the morning I ordered a Uber to get to Hanmer but when it was supposed to arrive I got a message saying that they were sorry but they couldn't find a driver! I did get a $30 credit and the first car that came past when I put up my thumb stopped and took me all the way. Very good of them as it was a 14 km detour from their direct route to Canterbury, yet another example of Kiwi friendliness.
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| Hostel reception |
A wet time in the town spent visiting various eating establishments and talking to the large numbers of TA walkers who seem to have gathered here.
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| Hanmer hot springs |
The town is a tourist destination famous for the hot springs and there were a lot of people about with accommodation very scarce, I was a day earlier than I expected but managed to get a bed in the same hostel that I had booked for the next two nights.
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| Hanmer |
The next day, New Year's Eve, was spent shopping for the next ten days. I sent three days worth on to Arthurs Pass to avoid carrying quite so much but it is still an impressive weight.
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| I got my new shoes, the old ones don't look too bad in the picture |
Once that was all organized I went to the hot pools to sit in some nice suphorous water untill I was even more wrinkled. The pools were very busy but mainly around the slides and things, there was enough space in the adult areas.
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| Tourist transport |
I hadn't intended to stay up to see the New Year in but I met up with Pete and Dean, two TA walkers from New Zealand. It was Pete's birthday today and Deans birthday on the 2nd so we went for a meal together and ended up singing Auld Lang Syne with everyone else.
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| Seafood platter |
I went back to the hot pools on New Year's Day for a quiet soak before spending the rest of the day relaxing at the hostel reading a book and eating.
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| Hanmer approach road |
Pete, Dean, myself and Vinny (Italian TA walker) are getting a shuttle back to Boyle in the morning to continue the trail.
