A Day at the Springs

If you've never been to Hanmer Springs you might wonder what draws close to 500,000 people to this dreamy little village set amid 13,000 hectares of exotic forest, 380 metres above sea level. Tucked beneath Mt Isabel, its streets are quiet and it's hard to believe that on any given day, the usual permanent population of around 865 can swell to over 4,000 people.

Invariably you'll find them steaming themselves silly at Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa, the promotional flagship of the increasingly busy Hurunui district and the appropriately-billed Alpine Pacific Triangle that forms a neat pleasure-filled shape that includes the thriving Waipara Wine District, Kaikoura's marine attractions and Hanmer's thermal pools.
Now one of the most visited tourist destinations in the South Island, Hanmer Springs has a long history of attracting attention - right back in 1859 in fact, William Jones observed "a remarkable fog" near a well-used walking track and went to investigate. There he found seven circular pools, the largest 7-8 yards across. Even then early settlers had pleasure on their minds, eyeing up the pools as a potential health resort; but it wasn't until 1878 when John Fry built a dressing shed by the main pool that things got moving and the trickle of visitors began to grow. By 1879 regular coach services to the pools had begun and in 1883, the pools were officially opened with James Stewart as the first caretaker.
Today it's a whole new ball game. The 14-pool complex is nationally and internationally recognised as one of the finest thermal resorts in the country. Last year's $4-million expansion plan - the third in just over a decade - saw the addition of more thermal pools, large landscaped picnic areas, conference facilities and an international-class day spa facility focused around water-based massage and beauty treatments. Flushed with the success of the new facility, they're about to embark on yet another expansion - an $8.5-million project that will re-develop a block of land purchased from the owners of the adjacent and now-disused Queen Mary Hospital. This will include a new freshwater pool and a new slide attraction. The site of the existing freshwater pool will be converted into three giant jacuzzi pools featuring waterfalls. They expect to have it all completed by 2011.

I visited the new Day Spa complex - complete with new private pools - a couple of weekends ago and I have to say it's an excellent addition to an already-popular attraction. There was a steady stream of white-robed visitors - male and female - lining up for little luxuries in one of the thirteen new treatment rooms. Body wraps (the chocolate wrap is a special indulgence), deep tissue and relaxation massage, facials, manicures, Vichy massage, skin treatments and reflexology - they're all there. All you have to do is lie back in their quiet, tranquil environment and let the experts transport you into the realms of pleasure.
And don't for one minute think this is just for the girls. I was amazed at the number of men visiting the day spa. And who could blame them? It's a sign of the times perhaps, as more and more people treat themselves to the pleasures of New Zealand day spas. Hence the formation of Best Spas of New Zealand, a selection of the country's top spas - Chuan Spa, Auckland; Bliss Reflexology,Auckland; Polynesian Spa, Rotorua; Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa; and The Spa at Millbrook in Queenstown - ensuring you can be indulged from one end of the country to another. If you'd like to look at a possible itinerary to better plan your visit to Hanmer Springs, check here. www.hanmersprings.co.nz

Meet the People - 46

Another in the Series Meet the People - Ordinary and Extraordinary New Zealanders Doing Interesting Things - Brian Christey of Oxford, in North Canterbury, is a man with a passion for collecting and recycling. He gathers up old steel, mechanical bits and pieces, old vehicles and timber, with all the enthusiasm of a man on the hunt for lost treasure.

The two-and-a-half acres Brian ("with an 'i' not a 'y'") owns on the outskirts of Oxford village are a testament to his magpie inclinations. Every square inch is home to his gatherings. Old vehicles are stacked up on one side of the property; old machinery in another; and at the centre of it all, is the timber milling operation he runs. But not for Brian the high-tech specifications of modern milling equipment. He's happy with his monster four-sider planing machine circa 1928 (pictured above). It sits on a carpet of sweet-smelling sawdust and happily spews out beautifully-planed lengths of timber the way it always has done.
1957 Morris Oxford
It's fair to say that in the 20 years Brian has lived on the property, he's surrounded himself with a veritable 'warehouse' of parts and pieces. He's a self-confessed jack of all trades - part mechanic, engineer, saw-miller, tree-planter, maker of things and solver of problems - and if there's a problem no one else can fix, he reckons he can make a pretty good go of it by adapting something from his jam-packed yard. And as chaotic as it looks to the 'untrained eye,' Brian seems to know exactly where every last, archaic metal relic is.

Bedford D truck

Brian's sawmilling truck

He lives in close proximity too - in an adapted shipping container on site, complete with watch dog. "I don't know why people are complaining about the possibility of prisoners living in these things. With insulation and some easy modifications, they make a great little home," says Brian. With a bedroom at one end, a decent-sized bathroom at the other and a comfortable living room in the centre opening out onto a shady courtyard complete with outdoor furniture made from giant macrocarpa logs, you quickly get the feeling there's no place else Brian would rather be. You also get the feeling he probably has plenty more recycled surprises hoarded away in some other corner we haven't yet seen.

A Day at the Market

A friend and I drove out to the little North Canterbury village of Oxford today. It sits about 45 minutes northwest of Christchurch and has become a favourite destination for many. Much of this was triggered by the arrival of well known New Zealand foodie, Jo Seagar, who shifted south from Auckland and set up a cafe, cooking school and kitchen shop about three years ago. Since then, the village has blossomed and numerous new businesses have opened. There's also the Oxford Farmers' Market, which is held every Sunday from 9am.

There weren't as many farmers' market stalls as I expected, but the quality of product on most was excellent and as locals and visitors alike, gathered to pick over the best, I was in photographic heaven. The German baker had a queue a mile long - especially for delicacies like his baked cherry quark cheesecake (which, may I add, makes for a tasty, indulgent breakfast); likewise the Dutch bakers, who delighted the crowds with custard-cream filled bee stings.....amazing flat cakes dusted in a shower of icing sugar, which do have an enormous Dutch name but appear to have somehow adopted this strange name, bee stings.

After the market, we wandered into the old town hall - an architectural treat in its own right (I'll feature some of the unique village buildings in another post), where the local women were staging the monthly craft market. It was like stepping back into the 1950s and as much as I yearned to take photographs, it somehow didn't seem appropriate. There's no getting away from the fact that it was a mixed bag - everything from skin-creepingly ugly crocheted toilet roll holders, to exquisite hand-knitted baby cklothes and soft toys selling for ridiculously cheap prices. There was even a good old-fashioned cake stall, run by a little grey-haired lady who took a very particular pride in her baked goods. I was tempted to ask her what she thought of all the fancy foreign baked goods at the next door Farmers' Market but I didn't - and now of course, I wish I had. Another time perhaps. www.oxfordnewzealand.co.nz

Barry's Provocative Unpublished Minutes - 81

"The Great Nor-West Cycleway in the Sky - 2"

I featured the first of this quirky print series here a few weeks back - another witty observation from my favourite New Zealand printmaker. To see others in the series, click on Cleavin in the label line below this post.

Give a Gnome a Home

I LOVE the eccentricity of small-town New Zealand and as a former North Islander, I think I can safely say that the further south you go, the stranger it gets. And I say that without malice; rather with a sense of awe and sometimes incomprehension and an overwhelming desire to actually meet and talk with the people responsible. I felt that today in the small, North Canterbury town of Oxford, when I came across this little house in the main street, that has obviously become a resting place for the unloved concrete garden ornaments of the world. The small front garden was swollen with activity as gnomes cuddled together under geraniums; kiwi chatted with pukeko; and lounging cats gazed longingly at singing frogs and sun-baking turtles. I would have loved to have knocked on the door to find out more - the journalist in me couldn't help but think of the possible stories behind it all - but I resisted the urge in favour of moving on to the next photographic hot-spot....and there were certainly plenty of those (for me anyway) in Oxford.

A Church on the Edge of the Harbour

Tiny Wainui Church snuggles under a clump of poplar trees a short distance up the gravel road that leads away from the water's edge at Wainui - one of the charming holiday settlements on the edge of Akaroa Harbour on Banks Peninsular. It's typical of the little old country churches that I love (from an architectural point of view) - simple, petite, charming and smelling of history. I make a habit of photographing churches and you can check out others by clicking on the word Churches in the label line below this post.

Waitangi Day in Akaroa

This is where I am today - in the pretty harbourside village of Akaroa on Banks Peninsula, an hour's drive from Christchurch. I'm attending the Ngai Tahu Waitangi Day celebrations at Onuku Marae, which sits on the edge of the harbour about five minutes from the village. (I'll be presenting photographs from the celebrations on my other blog, http://maorilifestyles.blogspot.com tomorrow). Akaroa will probably be swollen with visitors today - the many who arrive in town for the Waitangi Day celebrations, along with the usual throng of tourists, who fill the streets at this time of year. I will report back with more in the coming days.

Winning Waipara Wines

Fantastic food and wine, passionate people and great landscapes are all the encouragement I need to head up to North Canterbury. Just 45 minutes north of Christchurch and you’re right in the heart of Waipara Wine Region - one of the fastest growing wine areas in New Zealand. There are over eighty vineyards in the region now covering over 1,500 hectares - all flourishing in a pretty valley of rolling green slopes and marching vines, backed by the gentle slope of the Teviotdale Hills.

On a recent jaunt north, we stopped for lunch and wine tasting at The Mud House Winery & Cafe. This gigantic winery, just off the main highway, sprang to life several years ago when a wealthy American decided to create the largest winery in the region. It’s under new ownership now and has recently been remodeled to create a much more pleasing interior and garden dining area – just the place to while away a hot, sunny afternoon before returning to the city.

The Mud House has a diverse selection of award-winning wines, bottled as Mud House and Waipara Hills, using grapes from their three regional vineyards in Marlborough, Waipara and Central Otago. The Waipara Hills vineyard covers 550 hectares and spreads out from the enormous winery complex like a rumpled green tablecloth.

To my mind, no wine tasting is complete without food and at The Mud House you can indulge in everything from thick, delicious seafood chowder to salads and generous platters filled with a selection of meats, cheeses, pickles, dips, crackers and fresh breads. One of their menu highlights though are the Wild Pies. They’ve taken the meat from wild Canterbury venison, boar, mountain thar and wild goats and created flavour-filled stews incorporating their wines and topped with golden pastry; and there’s a Kaikoura monkfish version for seafood lovers.

Wine appreciation tours at The Mud House run daily from 11am to 3pm. They include an inspection of the winery, wine tasting and a walk through the vines. This in turn includes an introduction to the Greening Waipara project, which aims to build biodiversity back into the wine experience throughout the region. The project ultimately aims to re-plant native trees particular to the region and to encourage environmentally-friendly practices to reduce reliance on herbicides and pesticides. Wetlands, swales, shelter belts, stream and pond edges and vineyard borders are all receiving ‘an ecological makeover.’

If you want to explore the wider Waipara Wine Region, you’ll find a good itinerary here and you can also pick up the excellent North Canterbury Food & Wine Trail brochure at information centres. www.mudhousewineryandcafe.co.nz

An Afternoon Photo Spot.

Pearls

Glowing

At a Wine Tasting

February 2010 Ajr

One Tree

On a Hill

Thrillseeker's Canyon

Hanmer Springs

February 2010. Ajr

StreetscapeNZ - 66

Gladstone Road, Gisborne

East Coast, North Island

May 2009 Ajr