Saturday, April 15, 2006
Stop. Hanmer Time!
Tonight we are in Hanmer Springs, New Zealand, having arrived Christchurch via Auckland this afternoon. Dad mentioned that in Bill Bryson's book, the author mentions that Kiwi's are constantly playing 50's music on the radio. Lo and behold, as we settled into our rental house and turned on the radio to hear some good ol' fashioned doo-wop.
Our three hour drive North from Christchurch offered up some fantastic scenery. Further from the equator, NZ seems to be similar to rural Oregon or Washington state. A more dramatic timber line, scenic alps, spanning plains and majestic rivers thus far, and we're only in our first day! The first impression that stood out was that there is no one here, the South island seems very sparse and desolate. The towns that we pass through are tidy, clean and small - albeit stuck in a time warp. Christchurch was quickly in the rear-view and there hasn't been a significant town since. There are 2 million people in all of NZ, a majority in reside in the capital city Auckland on the North isle. Only 340k in Christchurch.
Hanmer Springs is a town at the foot of a ski resort containing a handful of boutique shops and restaraunts and most notably, the Hanmer hot springs. More a community center than anything else, the Hanmer springs are nine thermal suphur pools that have been regulated to different temps, with funky lighting and a diverse collection of bathers. It was more like a swim center than anything else, with its hottest pool reaching 110 degrees fahrenheit. The hotter the pool was, the more it smelled like eggs. By the end of our swim session, we all smelled like omlettes.
Foilage is much more pronounced here, orange and red everywhere because of Fall. There is still snow on the mountains, but the temperature is only in the 60s in the daytime - clear and brisk. More time on the road tomorrow.
posted by ncawthon at 7:18 PM
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