5 reasons to love HANMER SPRINGS
This picturesque hot spot brings the thrills and chills
Hanmer Springs really left its mark on me. From the exhilaration of mountain biking to the soak in the thermal pools that followed, this was the perfect weekend break for my partner and me.
1 Where to stay
After a 90-minute flight from Auckland, I landed in Christchurch, before driving two hours to the picturesque Canterbuty township. While it has a permanent population of only 900 people, don’t let that fool you – the place was packed with visitors when we arrived! Our base for the long weekend was the Heritage Hanmer Springs hotel, a beautiful 1930s building perfectly positioned right in the middle of town. It’s a huge property with a stunning garden, surrounded by treetopped mountains. I felt like I’d escaped to Canada or the European alps!
2 Wine and dine
It’s not a holiday if you haven’t had to unbutton your pants at the end of each day! Our first stop was the Black Estate winery, perched on top of the hills away from the main road with amazing views. The food was excellent, and I loved watching workers pick grapes out in the field while we filled up on bread and pasta. My top tip here is to plan an early lunch. We arrived at midday and had the place to ourselves. The indulgent food didn’t stop there and once we managed to drag ourselves away from the divine hotel restaurant Isobel’s (don’t leave without trying their steak or garlic bread), we fell in love with Salt n Pepper Café just down the road.
3 Mountain biking
My long weekend getaway happened to fall across my partner’s birthday, so I found myself spending Sunday morning mountain biking, one of his favourite activities. I’m more of an inside cat – I like online shopping and doing my nails at home – but despite a few near misses with trees and a collision with a trunk, I enjoyed it! Hanmer Springs is well known for mountain biking, but if you’re a newbie like me, there’s a brilliant Easy Rider track to make you feel like a pro without facing any terrifying hills.
4 Thermal pools
I’d like to say I’m smarter than the average bear and had predicted I would be battered and bruised from my bike ride, so I’d already booked myself in for a massage at the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa that afternoon. The blissful session almost reversed the biking damage and the next day, we returned to explore the famous geothermal pools. As I soaked up the mineral waters, I could see why these pools have become the town’s main attraction. We visited twice, first booking in for a private pool and then to explore the outdoor pools on the Monday morning, which I’d recommend as it was a lot quieter.
5 Christchurch ziplining
Before catching a plane back, I took the chance to also explore Christchurch. For our afternoon activity, I’d booked us in for ziplining at the Christchurch Adventure Park, something that’s been on my bucket list. We had an incredible two hours flying across not only New Zealand’s highest zipline, but the longest too, where you can reach speeds of over 100km/h. The park was hit badly by the Port Hills fire last year and was forced to close just eight weeks after opening. It’s reopened after months of repairs and even the ride up the chairlift is worth it for the spectacular views.