Hanmer Springs and Flaxmere Gardens

We found ourselves in some hot water at Hanmer Springs! Unfortunately, we don't have any photos of it. We took some but we can't find them on the computer. This is the problem with digital photos. We do have some pics the photog at the resort took but our printer/scanner was damaged in the move here and I am too cheap to buy another one. So we are truely paperless around here. No printer, no paper. But it means no scanner too. :( Anyway, trust me we had fun! Check out the link: http://www.hanmersprings.co.nz/ and see the pools, waterslide, etc... One funny thing about the place is that the changing rooms are not really heated. They have these radiant heaters hanging here and there from the ceilings but it just keeps the changing rooms above freezing! And the floors are concrete. I thought I'd have frostbite before I got all three kids out of their wet clothes and into dry ones and THEN got myself changed. You would think that for the cost of about NZ$100 (US$80) for a family of 5 to get in, they would manage to heat the floors. I mean, all you'd have to do is run the hot water from the springs under the floors. But, I digress!

On the second day at Hanmer, Maggie didn't feel well. She had been a bit under the weather but on the second day she was really grumpy and listless and hot. So Erik and Sue watched her while I took the die hard swimmers back into the hot pools. And then out again for another trip to the frigid changing room! We didn't know it at the time, but Maggie was working on a case of RSV. Poor girl. You can see she's under the weather in the Flaxmere Gardens photos below.

Flaxmere Gardens were gorgeous and we were there in the Winter, when the owner told us there was less to see. She was so nice. We were the only people who had come to see the gardens that day (and maybe for a few days). She and her dogs gave us some history of the gardens and then let us look around on our own. One thing she told us was that her mother in law and her mother had told her two important things years ago and she had been living by them ever since. The first rule was to do something creative every day and the second rule was to plant things that were beautiful twice a year. With these things in mind, she and her late husband designed and built their amazing garden.

There were a series of ponds on her land that she and her husband had created by damning up a stream that ran through their land. (I kept thinking: I hope they had a permit! Too many years working on FEMA issues.)

Every direction, there was something beautiful to see. 

Beautiful swan. 

 There were some terrific sculptures that really suited the landscape. Organic.

Ben is a photo bomber!

I love two things about this photo. Both of which make my OCD, type-A husband nutty. 1: I love that the bricks have been lifted by the tree's roots and then left alone. 2: I love the moss on the bricks. One should never get rid of moss. Moss rocks!  

Another gorgeous sculpture. 

 Me and my little man.

We all really liked this sculpture. 

 Caty and Grandma Sue.

 Caty discovered that sun dials need enough sun to throw a shadow.

 Family photo with one sick little girl. 

 Grandma with the grand-kids. 

Yes, there were sheep. They are everywhere. You can just see the electric fence line at the bottom of the pic. We told the kids once: Don't touch the fence! Did they listen? Nope, but they learned an important lesson about listening! LOL!

After this, it was home to Christchurch and off to the doctor for Maggie. She recovered in a few days and is fine now. But it was pretty hard on her, poor kid. 

The North End of the South Island

After staying in Kaikoura, Sue, Erik, the kids, and I, drove North through Marlborough wine country. We stopped at the Yealands vineyard where we bumped into Peter Yealand at the front desk without realizing it was him! He's quite the renaissance man in agri business here and his wines have gotten some big awards even though he's pretty new to the wine business.

Sue and I sampled the wares.

Looking rather blurry after the tasting.

Erik was a trooper and kept Ben and Mags busy.

Caty had fun too. 

 Sue and I got to sample quite a few wines - I lost track - and most of them were very tasty. We even got a taste of their recent gold medal wine which was indeed very good.

Caty was very excited to sit at the bar with Sue and I. The lady giving us the tasting said she had a special wine for Caty to taste. It was water. Caty was only slightly disappointed because the big wine glass was pretty darn cool.

Places in NZ are so good about children. They had a big box of toys next to the fireplace for Ben and Maggie. They didn't mind a bit that we brought little kids with us. Erik played with the little kids so Sue and I could enjoy our tasting.

Then we were off to Picton to see what there was to see.

There was a very cool "ship" playground.

The view from the playground was so pretty.

Picton has a pretty little marina.

 While Caty and Sue shopped til they dropped around town, Erik and I took the little ones on a hike.

 Ben was quite a trooper and walked a long way up a steep hill to see the view.

 Good view!

On the way down, Ben found a railing made of old train rails. Sweet As!

 At the top.

 It didn't matter where you pointed the camera, it was all pretty.

On another excursion, we all hiked past some ancient foundations for Maori round houses and then to the end of this very defensible peninsula. In the background is the huge ferry that goes back and forth from our island to Wellington on the North island.

 Sunny and chilly.

 In the distance are lots of islands.

 It was a gorgeous, clear day. I don't think I fully appreciated all the sunshine in AZ.

Back in Picton, we had to check out the rocks. The kids love collecting the "good ones" and we have piles of them in the back yard. Shells too.

 I got these pics in the wrong order, this was the tiki carving at the trail head for the hike to the round houses. The tiki is the symbol for the first man.

The tiki always has three fingers, spiral carvings (symbols of new life - like a fern frond unrolling) and paua (abalone) shell eyes. The eyes are the last to be added to the carving, the wood is dead until the eyes go in and give it life.

This photo is specially for Darnell and Kristen. Go Team Edward!

 Look Mom! A rock!

Mom! Take a picture of this rock!

 Road trip!

 It's all fun and games until Ben tries to punch Grandma and Cate gives Mags a noogie!

 You know how they have lots of sheep in NZ? Well, they might have even more cows! These were being moved by "drovers" (aka cowboys although that is a negative term here!). We had to stop the car for them to cross the road. Yeeehaw!

Gorgeous old roadside hotel.

Another cattle drive.

Sue is bravely standing on Pelorus Bridge. This is a rope bridge across a deep valley with a gorgeous river running through it. It was VERY wobbly!

 Pelorus Bridge is located in one of the few remaining pristine old-growth forest areas. The ferns towered above our heads and were just beautiful.

 This kid is going to be on Fear Factor some day. He kept jumping on the bridge to bounce it and all of us!

 The view down.

 Caty and Ben at the far side taunting us. After this Ben went flying down the path and we lost sight of him. It took a lot of hollering to get him to come back. When we tour NZ, you can hear us for miles!

 Sue on the bridge. She's more than half way across. That gives you a feel for the scale. The photos don't really do justice to the scare-factor.

 No idea what happens if more than 10 people get on the bridge.

It was very dark under the trees and very bright out on the bridge. Hard to get a good photo. 

After Picton and Pelorus Bridge we headed back down South to Hanmer Springs for some soaking in hot springs. On the way there we had some great views of the Southern Alps.

 Erik at the helm.

There are a lot of bridges on the highways in NZ. Usually wooden and often one lane. You see a sign on the approach to them that tells you if you have the right of way or if you have to "give way" (aka yield).

Single lane bridge. They are pretty.

Bee-U-tiful! But don't ask me which peak this is.

This drive ended at Hanmer Springs and after that we went to a nationally recognized garden. Please see the next post. :)