{"id":1083,"date":"2024-02-10T09:40:01","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T20:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/?p=1083"},"modified":"2024-02-10T09:42:13","modified_gmt":"2024-02-09T20:42:13","slug":"hanmer-springs-for-some-rr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/10\/hanmer-springs-for-some-rr\/","title":{"rendered":"Hanmer Springs for some R&R"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

February 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I originally didn\u2019t have Hanmer Springs<\/a> on our itinerary. It was an out of the way destination that I wasn\u2019t sure was worth it. Pretty last minute we decided to add it, and I\u2019m so glad we did. After a very winding two hour back road drive from Kaik\u014dura, we arrived at the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Road out of Kaik\u014dura<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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More dolphins at Spy Glass Point<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Welcome to the Waiau Valley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Hanmer Springs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Spa entrance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are 22 different pools spread out over the property. There are sulfur, aromatherapy and mineral pools heated to a comfortable temperature of 106-110 degrees. It\u2019s like a warm\/hot bath that stays at a constant temperature. We hopped from one pool to the next, exploring which was our favorite. The sulphur pool was the hottest and smelliest, not my favorite unless you\u2019re a fan of the hot, rotten egg smell. I loved the rock pools and the aromatherapy ones with the powerful jets. Mitch enjoyed the lazy river. It was the coldest of all the pools and refreshing after the warmth of the other pools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Spa overview<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since our family\u2019s favorite massage therapist, Mary Dalrymple<\/a>, wasn\u2019t nearby, we treated ourselves to a few massage therapies at the Spa instead to up the ante on relaxation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the foot massage, the New Age music was really getting on my nerves. When what sounded like a 4th grade recorder concert came through the speaker, I started laughing. The therapist thought she was tickling my feet so she stopped the massage. I told her it wasn\u2019t that and after I apologized several times, she continued. But the recorder music kept playing and all I could think about was the time Zachary stuck one recorder up each nostril and played \u201cMary had a little lamb,\u201ddual nostril style. I lost it again. I laughed so hard I started crying, my body shaking, lying on the massage table with the therapist no doubt thinking I\u2019m totally deranged. We\u2019ve all been in that situation where we\u2019ve laughed at an inappropriate time and just couldn\u2019t stop. I bit my lip, I pinched myself, I tried to think of something sad. Nothing worked. Finally I asked her to please turn off the music. Total silence. I played the Picnic Game to distract myself and finally settled down. I have no idea if it was a good or bad massage, but I will remember that moment forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomorrow we head into the Waiau Valley to explore another New Zealand vineyard as we drive south to Christchurch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

February 9 I originally didn\u2019t have Hanmer Springs on our itinerary. It was an out of the way destination that I wasn\u2019t sure was worth it. Pretty last minute we decided to add it, and I\u2019m so glad we did. After a very winding two hour back road drive from Kaik\u014dura, we arrived at the … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-new-zealand-south-island"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_6582-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1174,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/10\/first-we-eat-then-we-do-everything-else-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1083,"position":0},"title":"\u201cFirst we eat, then we do everything else.\u201d","author":"Victoria","date":"10 February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"February 10 I guess we were channeling M.F.K. Fisher today. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Powerhouse Cafe in Hanmer Springs and then headed south to Black Estate Winery in the Waipara Valley. Yes, we went from one restaurant to another because that\u2019s what we do best. We\u2019ve perfected the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_6460.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_6460.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_6460.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_6460.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_6460.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":915,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/06\/beautiful-kaikoura\/","url_meta":{"origin":1083,"position":1},"title":"Beautiful Kaik\u014dura","author":"Victoria","date":"6 February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"February 6 Today is Waitangi Day, a public holiday in NZ that celebrates the first signing of New Zealand\u2019s founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, in 1840. 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My first clue that Victoria made the right decision was when the announcement came over the lobby reception PA saying the captain had made the determination to sail,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_6103-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_6103-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_6103-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_6103-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_6103-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1651,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/17\/saturday-saltwater-therapy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1083,"position":4},"title":"Saturday Saltwater Therapy","author":"Victoria","date":"17 February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"February 17 Off we go A two hour boat tour of the Banks Peninsula with Black Cat Cruises started off our day. 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