Nov 21st – We had been told by many people that Hanmer Springs was a great place to visit to take in the thermal pools. Since we didn’t do this in Rotorua, we thought a day at the spa would be a great way to close out our time in the Christchurch area.

Since it was a nice warm sunny day, we took advantage of the weather to cruise around downtown to get some pictures of some of the buildings that have been destroyed. Hopefully I’ll be able to have some before (scanned from a calendar) and after pictures to help people get a sense of the magnitude of change this city is going through. It was a real surprise, and brought a lump to my throat, to see the trolley rolling along Worcester Street. Today was the first day the trolley has run in almost three years!

Much of the trip to Hanmer Springs was along the road we had travelled yesterday but we had a bit more time today to make a few stops. The first one was at the Athena Olive Grove. It turns out that it’s owned by a guy from England who emigrated, bought the property, and then figured out what he needed to know about olives. We made a purchase to bring home.

After a brief pit stop in Calverdon, we arrived in Hanmer Springs in time for lunch. Since rain was in the forecast for the afternoon, we had a quick bite and then enjoyed the water for an hour or so. There are about 12 different pools ranging in temperatures from 33 – 40 degrees. Unfortunately the sulphur pools were closed for maintenance…but then I’m not much into sulphur anyway.

We have passed many golf courses in our travels – most not seemingly played too much – but we never wanted to take the time to play a round. So today was the day but it was just a small pitch and putt course. It took just over an hour for the 18 holes and you guessed it – he beat me again. The good news is that we both broke 100!

We decided to go back to the apartment to pack and do a bit of washing before heading out to dinner. Unfortunately it took more time than planned and we found ourselves heading off to the local cafe about 6:30. Big mistake…both cafés were full to the rafters with a 45 minute wait. We went back and picked up our car and headed off in another direction. Surprisingly, it is very difficult to find restaurants in Christchurch. I’m sure they have lost a lot in the downtown core. Many are in small suburbs but you have to know how to find them. To make a long story short we finally got seated in a bar about 8pm but it was just after 9pm when our meal finally arrived. Lots of apologies and a little discount helped resolve our frustration and we were able to laugh on the way home about how close we had come to dining Chez the Golden Arches which is a big no-no at dinner time in our house.