Belated Happy New Year from ChCh

Our week in Kaikoura was great, in addition to hiking and horseback riding, we did a little snorkeling and took a day trip to Hanmer Springs, the best hot springs I've ever experienced. (Set amid towering, pine-clad mountains, there were three thermal pools (41C - hot!), a beautifully landscaped series of interconnected rock pools and waterfalls of various temperatures, plus several warm-to-hot fresh water pools, and a large swimming pool. Private pools, sauna/steam, and massage were also available, but I got my $10's worth from the main area. New Year's Day was endlessly rainy, so we stayed in our toasty little cabin and read all day - a great way to start 2005.

From there we headed south to Christchurch (about 2 hours) but, not finding finding any reasonably priced accomodation, we drove on out to the Banks Penninsula. There's a very cute town there, Akaroa, which started life as a French settlement and is now the single busiest tourist town I've come across in NZ. It's in a picture-perfect, well protected harbor, plus it's French (sort of), so I guess that explains it. We had a couple nice days in the area, exploring endless bays and breath taking vistas - the penninsula itself was formed by two volcanos - now it's like a dragon's tail that reaches out of the Canterbury coast and spirals back in on itself.

Now we're back in Christchurch for a few days of city life. Belated best wishes for a Happy New Year!

Cheers,
Sandie