Aspen Lodge Motel Hanmer Springs

... of varying temps between 33-41celcius so it was nice and warm and relaxing i also swam a few lenghts in the pool just to not feel so lazy. i then drove in the afternoon to motuaka at the far north of the country over lewis pass and through the nelson lakes.

... Sounds. This earned big bonus points with Kristin. I even found a 5 star hotel for 7 days bundled with an airfare for almost the same price as buying an airfare by itself. More bonus points. So, in a matter of a couple hours, we deviate our entire trip from a winter escape in New Zealand to a beach trip to Fiji.

As we make our way to Christ Church, we have one mountain pass to cross, it is rainy and foggy, but I ...

... we reached Motuku, we decided to stop for a walk and seek out a more substantial breakfast. After perusing several menus, we happily wandered into the Sunday Open Market.   The sign said Market open rain or shine. We were happy it was shine, one of our rare sunny days. The market had all sorts of things: Fruit, veggies, used books, nuts, jams, Morrocan Chanukah Donuts (no- seriously) and assorted coffees and prepared foods ...

... a few years later. The Grey River had flooded the city every few years, and a large flood wall was built called "the great wall of Greymouth". The downtown area was quite sparse so we grabbed a sandwich and headed north along the coast. Spectacular views of the Tasman Sea, the water was sparkling blue and the scenery was to die for. The road, well lets say it twisted and turned so much, I started to feel ill. About 45 minutes later we arrived in ...

... straight to the thermal pools. Here, there are 9 thermal pools, all outside, 3 of which are sulphur pools, while the rest are filtered. All the pools are different temperatures so you can alternate hot for a slightly cooler one. We spent the morning trying them all out; Stu's favourite was the 41 degrees sulphur pool (or eggy pools as we renamed them due to the smell), while Rachel's was the 36 degree rock pools where there were plenty of spots with rocks ...

... Sicht! Weiter bis nach Hanmer Springs, einem Thermal Kurort mit dem ganzen Schnickschnack - aber die 12 $ fuer die heissen Quellen habe ich mir diesemal geleistet, auch wenn es schoenstes Wetter war und es fast zu warm dafuer war... XXXXX I also just held a short stop in Christchurch but didn't miss to do a little round trip on the Banks ...

... a more strenuous walk, the Waterfall Track. As the name suggests, it led up to a 41m high Dog Stream Waterfall. The walk is a 3hr return trip, with 400m ascent. However, on the way back we joined the Spur Track instead and this leads back down to the same place, via the Fir Tree track as well. There seemed to have been some wild storms previously as a lot of the trees were uprooted, which made for a bit of an obstacle course ...

... and promised that when he climbs it in 12 months he will personally move the body off the track. Its so sad to think there are hundreds of bodies on the mountain, just laying there. However the Antartic centre was educational and cold!! We flew out early this morning and I went straight to work in the taxi chauffeur service (also known as mum!!) and I am getting ready now to pack for Europe! I leave Saturday!! From snow to sun! Photos will be updated here tonight

... natural thermal water, all of varying temperatures. There is also two swimming pools here and an indoor spa. We decide to opt for a bit of luxury and opt for a private spa which is an indoor pool, large enough for six people, containing the mineral water at a temperature of around 40 degrees. It is absolutely wonderful, especially as it's been a long time since either of us soak in the bath. The mineral content of the water ...

... to the boat for about 10 mins before diving back down so there was plenty of time to take photos and gawp. Unfortunately, Sperm whales are not great performers...so whilst it was an unbelievable sight, the trip thus far was pretty calm. However, on the way back...that was a different story. We came across a pod of dusky dolphins that was absolutely huge...there were literally, hundreds of them leaping about. Not being afraid, they swam ...