Hi-de-Hi Hanmer

We stayed the first three nights at NZMCA’s Hanmer Park which is located about 6kms before the village and very near the Waiau River. The first night we parked near the road as there were a few others on the other side of the park. I was thinking “sleepy little resort, not much traffic”. Wrong. The rumbling started at about 4:30am, delivery trucks & cars zooming pass on the road just above our heads!

After everyone had left the next day we moved over to the other side but not just up against the bank as the others had parked, up on the old road which proved to be an ideal spot for us as it was nice and level and we had a grandstand view of the park and traffic coming & going. After 3 nights (the maximum allowed) we moved on to the Pines Holiday Park which was very handy to the village and just opposite Jacks Pass.

The one way 135 year old historic Ferry Bridge, over the Waiau River, is the gateway to the Hanmer Basin. Thrillseekers Adventures run a number of activities off, under & around the bridge; bungy jumping (there’s a jumping platform in the centre on the far side), jet boat rides up the river (you can see a jet boat tied up beneath the bridge). There’s also rafting, quad bikes & paintball available.

I mentioned in the previous post that we were in Hanmer so David could celebrate a special birthday, he was especially looking forward to a massage. Unfortunately we overlooked the fact that it was the school holidays and Hanmer was a very busy little village with many families enjoying a holiday in the alpine resort. The cafes & restaurants were full to overflowing, the thermal hot pools had a queue out the door everytime we passed by, there were a mass of kids & adults at the two Putt Putt Golf courses in town, every second car had bikes attached to the towbar or riding on the roof. And of course along with all the holidaying families there were the regular tourists & their motorhomes crowding the streets. It was a very hyped up little place.

Added to the mix were these cycles, the Village Cruisers were everywhere, pedalling around town, down the forest roads and passing by the camp site at Jacks Pass. I think they were quite hard work to pedal especially when there was just one adult, the kids had stopped pedalling after a few minutes. I took these photos all within about 15 minutes as I waited on a park bench for my phone to update at a telecom hotspot. 

Initially David was going to have a massage at The Spa, part of the thermal pool complex but we found a couple of others places that also did massages and he selected one that he was happy with and booked with them. We were also going to have a swim in the hot pools at some stage but after seeing how many people (and children) were filing into the pools we decided we might just have a swim in a private pool. That was until I saw it was going to cost $60 for 30 minutes! I’d rather find our own natural hot pool on the side of the road than pay that much for a swim! There are a couple near the road through Lewis Pass but they’ll have to wait as we were headed in the other direction when we left Hanmer.

On David’s birthday, which was on a beautiful sunny Sunday, we walked into town and had a lovely brunch at the Powerhouse Cafe, one of the many busy cafes in the village. Every available table inside & outside every cafe was taken with families enjoying the winter sunshine.
We then had a lovely birthday dinner at Restaurant No. 31, one of the few fine dining restaurants in the village and one without a child in sight! No. 31 reminded us of our favourite restaurant back in Tauranga, Somerset Cottage.

One morning during our stay I took myself off on a walking tour of the historic buildings around Hanmer Springs and in particular through the hospital grounds that surround the thermal pool complex. Along with the fresh mountain air, the thermal springs were part of the therapeutic environment which helped patients recover.

Click on the photo to enlarge if you wish to read the information boards.

The Chisholm Ward for “female patients suffering from functional nervous diseases”, later it became a treatment centre of drug & alcohol dependency.

Next door was the Nurses Hostel, a large imposing building with a very small front door beside which the sign read “Out of Bounds to Clients". I can understand that. There could be quite an emotional attachment from patients towards the nurses especially in the state of mind that some would have.

The Soldiers Block- a convalescent home for the treatment of shell-shocked servicemen.

 

This building is of significant historical value, as one of only two similar hospital buildings of this design, it is the only one that remains on it's original site.

And as I wandered on further through the large park like grounds I came across this building which looks like another type of dormitory hospital block, but it wasn’t until I walked around to the back that I saw a sign saying “Private Property, No Entry” It looked like a military building of some sort which has been abandoned. I’ve been unable to find out any information about it so far. 

In the centre of the village is The Heritage Hotel which is located in a beautiful Spanish-style building that was originally built in the 1930s as a lodge catering to the increasing numbers of tourists to Hanmer Springs “taking the waters”.

While David was having his massage I visited the Hanmer Forest Park which was just down the road (everything is just down the road in Hanmer) where there are numerous bike trails. When we came over Jollies Pass the other day I had spotted this unusual stand of conifers with their trunks all on a lean.

I did a few in-camera abstract shots too.

These could be the Ents from the LOTR film. David offered to put his black beanie on and  peep around the various trunks. I could have done multiple shots and merged them. But we didn’t get around to it.

So that was Hanmer, we did have a lovely time but next time we’ll make sure we don’t coincide our visit with the busy school holidays. We left Hanmer Springs after a very cold night, snow had settled on the surrounding mountains and on the grass around our camp site. And as we pulled out heading for Kaikoura, it started to snow again. 

Kepler Track- One of the “Great Walks”

The Kepler Track is one of DOCs “Great Walks”, its a 60 km, 3-4 day circular track that starts on the gently sloped beech-forested shores of Lake Te Anau climbing steadily up onto and along tussocky alpine ridges, past Mt Luxmore, through deep gorges, down the steep Iris Burn and back through beech forest along the shores of Lake Manapouri. Being so close to Te Anau the “Walk” is a very popular tramp and the huts are booked up well in advance. The car park close to the Waiau Control Gates where the track starts and finishes was full of rental cars both days we were in the area with people entering & exiting the track constantly.

There were a number of day walk options available on the track and we decided to do the 4 hour return walk from Rainbow Reach to Moturau Hut. The hut is the last one on the Kepler Track & we would be walking against the normal flow of traffic. As I’ve previously said we usually like to do a loop walk so we’re not seeing the same scenery twice but with a hut at the end to entice us (in fact two huts to choose from), a few other interesting features on the walk and two swing bridges we decided there would be enough to keep our interest.

This is the fabulous swing bridge at Rainbow Reach, one of the largest we’ve seen and capable of taking 10 people at once, although it looks like it could safely take a few more. The bridge crosses the wide Upper Waiau River which flows from lake Te Anau and into Lake Manapouri.

The walk starts in quite an airy light filled beech forest with a moss covered floor. The track is well formed and in fact we both commented on the feeling that this walk had a “commercial” feel about it. So much so that I felt like there could be somebody hiding behind a tree waiting to tell me off if I stepped off the path. We also passed a number of people & groups walking the track, a few making a huge amount of noise- those are the ones that then complain about there being no birds in the bush!

Before long though, the track narrowed and the understory grew thick, green & lush with ferns & spongy moss . The people thinned out too, a lot obviously just take a stroll from Rainbow Reach to get a small taste of NZ bush. I’m sure most wouldn’t have walked  far enough to see the beautiful ferns.

It was a thrill when I suddenly spied some flowers on a moss covered log & realised that they were our tiny native epiphytic orchid; Raupeka or Easter Orchid. As most New Zealanders will know, our native bush does not do large or flashy flowers they are mostly small & unobtrusive. This perfectly formed little beauty has the added advantage of a strong sickly sweet smell to attract attention. Cool!

Deep in the bush we came to the second swing bridge which crossed a small rocky stream bed. It was here that David decided to take a look at the water to see if there were any trout. I failed to notice that he had moved to the edge when I left the bridge after taking some photos. So for the next 40 minutes or so I raced through the bush trying to catch him up while he also pushed on hoping to catch me! Lesson learned- we need to communicate if either of us moves off the track. Needless to say we both had some choice words to say when we finally met up. After 40 minutes I realised that David just couldn’t have got that far ahead of me so I stopped and waited….and waited. Just as I was starting to worry, I heard him whistling for me. Although I didn’t know the whistle was for me! We also need to have a whistle tune that we recognise so I don't think some weirdo is approaching.

Needless to say the whole of Kepler Track could have heard us stomping down the boardwalk to the viewing platform over the wetlands and across Forest Burn.

By about now we were also starting to tire (after the mad dash) and we still had a few kilometres to walk. This cheeky little fantail (pīwakawaka) pushed us on flitting in and out of the trees as we walked by.

Along the way I found some unusual fungi to shoot, but nothing like the colours we saw in the Catlins. Finally we came to a fork in the track. One branch led to a day hut at Shallow Bay on Lake Manapouri, the other to the Moturau Hut still 20 minutes away. We had come so far I wasn’t about to turn around although my boots were starting to feel like lead weights.

Then without warning we broke out onto a clearing in front of the hut which was surrounded by people, inside and out! Kepler Track walkers that had arrived from the other direction and were staying the night at the hut. Some of the younger ones were playing a ball game, older ones were reading, others were sorting packs & airing bedding. And in amongst all this were hundreds, nay, thousands of vicious little sandflies! We had our lunch with us which we gulped down all the while swatting at sandflies and dancing about on one leg. We quickly threw everything into the pack, turned around and high-tailed it out of there. A very short and not so sweet visit! Even an invite from the DOC ranger to have a look round inside was turned down.

The view from the hut out over Lake Manapouri. At least on a hot day you could take a swim to cool down and get away from the pesky little buggers- the sandflies not the trampers.

The Kepler Track is also home to the Kepler Challenge, an annual running race that covers the whole 60 kilometres in less than five hours. While we were having our lunch on the hop a runner came in from the other direction calling out a greeting to the ranger. She filled up with water & was having a conversation with others while doing some stretching exercises when we left but it wasn’t too far down the track when we heard her footsteps approaching. We stepped aside as she ran past marveling at her sinewy leg muscles. She was in training for the Kepler Challenge and obviously covers the distance quite often. I was in awe.

It was a long slog home for us, towards the end you’re just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and praying that around the next bend will be the car park. One benefit of a there & back track, you know roughly how close home is when you see some familar objects……like a rotten log where you took a photo of some fungi.

Back at Rainbow Reach as we crossed the bridge, we spotted a canoe & a kayak approaching. We waited to see them pass under the bridge & it was good to see kids out with their Dads having fun in the great outdoors.