Hanmer Springs and Kaikoura

The next morning we decided to make an early start and head to Hanmer Springs. These are one of the South Islands tourist attractions and are a group of thermal baths. Take a look - http://www.hanmersprings.co.nz/. Their website makes the place look very exclusive and shows only one person in each pool.. sadly that is not the case.. its a similar environment to a pool attached to a cheap hotel in the US. However they had a number of pools and it was very relaxing to sit in the minerals whilst it drizzled on and off. The sulpher pools they had ranged from 38-41'C and was challenging yo enjoy as it is suppose to be good for you but it stinks of rotten eggs so I am not sure I stayed in long enough to see those benefits!

After the Springs we decided to push on to the coast as the weather was a little rainy and the town full of tourist shops, which by now on the trip are losing their appeal.We drove more twisty roads convinced with each hill we saw that the coast would be just behind it but instead were confronted with another hill, and again we hoped the ocean would appear. Finally we reached Kaikoura and the view does not disappoint. Its set on a penisular and the colour of the ocean is stunning. We decided to stay in a motor camp ground that night and found a really lovely one on the road opposite the beach on the main road so not on the peninsular itself (to the right of this picture. It had a lovely spa in the grounds which we used and fab hot power showers!

We went for a wander around the town and were pleased that they had a little second hand bookshop so Ryan picked up a new book. We had a drink at the Monteiths Brew pub and then headed back to the camp. That evening we BBQ'd some sausages used the spa before heading to bed.

The next day we walked along the peninsular as I had found out there was a sheep shearing show (well when in New Zealand). We really enjoyed it, the farmer was really friendly and informative and the sheep were very well behaved - and there was only another english couple there so we had the front row view and could stroke the sheep. He said his parents in law had 3000 sheep on the peninsular but now he only has 300 as there is not as much money in sheep farming as there used to be.. it was sad to here that but I guess thats everywhere in farming. http://www.pointsheepshearing.co.nz/

After the show we headed to see the seal colony on the far tip and then walked back to an outdoor mobile fish place which cooked fresh fish while you wait. Ryan had mussels and I had a pan fired fish sandwich, the lady running it also sold crayfish & scallops. It was really good value and so tasty.

We wandered back to the town and stopped to grab some steak from the local butchers. We were shocked to see that the butchers was cheaper than the supermarket, so grabbed some rump steak in abundance. Before we settled in for the night we decided to drive out to this pub, which according to the Lonely Planet was a great Irish pub with a fabulous and very large beer garden... well all I can say is don't believe everything you read! We turned round without stopping and headed back to prepare our BBQ.

After dinner and cards, we realised that our walk today in the overcast skies had burnt us! (and we had been so careful in the past) so after slapping on a humongous amount of after sun each 10 mins I finally went to sleep!