February 27
Christchurch to Hanmer Springs

Lots of rain overnight but a much better night’s sleep. Both toe and blisters appear to be on the mend. After packing I set off to the North, aiming to find the area in which there are a number of fruit and vegetable stalls. I eventually found them after zig zagging across the city for quite some time. The cheap prices I found were more than eaten up by the huge volume of petrol that I must have consumed in getting there.

I was heading towards my friends’ rental property in the village of Waiau, a couple of hours to the North. The journey took me through the towns to the north of Christchurch, where I stopped at Amberley to extract some cash from an ATM. This is the start of the Waipara area, one of the fastest growing wine regions. It is normally very hot and dry here but, this morning, it was drizzling happily. I turned inland, into the Hurunui, where there was some reasonable rain but where there was always some blue sky just over the horizon. Everything was very dry – except the sky.

The Hurunui Hotel is one of the oldest in the country and it now offers smart meals, its own label wine and mediocre coffee. I sat in the garden and consumed one of the latter while I waited for the rest of the party to arrive. This they did, not long after me, and we set off for the last 20 minutes en convoy.

The entry into Waiau is across a long bridge – single lane with two passing places and about 600 metres long. When I departed and had time to stop, the sun was in completely the wrong direction for photography. These things are sent to try us. Immediately on the village side is an information point where we stopped to read, learn and inwardly digest. Unfortunately, I can’t remember anything much about the history of the place. The village is on the up, being within easy range of a ski resort and the thermal resort of Hanmer Springs, where house prices are going through the roof. Waiau is the nearest affordable place for people to settle.

Waiau Information Point	The rental property
Waiau Lodge Hotel	Ramshead Cafe

The rental property is an old state house – built about 50 years ago – as two apartments – a semi-detached in UK terms. It now requires a lot of work but should be a good investment.

The village pub has been done up over the last year or so and is now more akin to a wine bar than a village local. The food is good and the décor smart. There is a public bar but many of the locals have taken their trade across the road to the café, which looks rather down at heel.

After lunch I said my farewells and headed for Hanmer Springs, a trip of about half an hour along the Waiau River valley. Hanmer is growing fast, with several new motels and a row of new shops since I was last here 2 years ago. The hot pools, the main reason for coming, however, were closed for maintenance and would remain so until lunchtime tomorrow, long after I would have to depart. Typical.

I settled in to the motel, did some work,  and cooked some food I had purchased at the local supermarket. Whilst my feet were improving, a healthy walk didn’t seem advisable.