Back to Karina & Luke's

Tuesday, 6th February
We didn't sleep on the flight at all. The timing was wrong and it was too busy, so we watched a film instead - 3 Billboards in Ebbing, Missouri (quite bizarre really). We disembark at 5am local time (still only 3am for us) and it is cold and raining. It takes ages to pick up our hired car from Cyril, who seemed quite new at the job. It's a Bank Holiday here (Waitangi Day) so the roads are quiet, but it is only 6am, and we navigate our way back to Sumner.
We get a good welcome back, and catch up over breakfast. Then we needed a nap because our bodies were reminding us that we hadn't slept for 2 days. A couple of hours later we take the nearby gondola ride up the hill giving

magnificent views over Christchurch and Lyttleton Port which , before the 2011 earthquake, was where cruise ships docked (no longer possible). It is very windy and rather chilly outside, so we had a light lunch in the cafe up there. Once down at sea level again, and out of the wind, we went for a long walk between Corsair and Cass bays. Early supper and early bed, to catch up on lost sleep.

Wednesday, 7th February
A day of "catch up" doing washing and shopping. After many wrong turns we eventually find a golf course that Jim had picked out so that we can, hopefully, book a round for tomorrow. Many maps are out of date because there is so much building going on. Following the earthquake many areas had to be totally demolished (red zones) and the city still has areas that haven't been rebuilt, so new housing estates are mushrooming up all over. 90% of housing here is bungalows. We eventually find the golf course - they are all very friendly and we book in for tomorrow.

Thursday 8th February
Another fine and sunny day, so we cream up and head to Bottle Lake golf course for our 10.30 round. We hired clubs. They were a really good deal, but we know why. They came out of the Ark and were a complete muddle of a set, but we coped fine - just! The fairways were lumpy with lots of hillocks, but the greens were excellent and in great condition. The fairways made it a tiring round, but we had nothing else organised for the rest of the day.

Friday, 9th February
Today, we're going to Hanmer Springs in our hired car with Karina (or so we thought). Luke's parents are arriving so he is spending a couple of family days with them before we all get together on Sunday afternoon. However, when Jim went to load our stuff into the car at about 11am he found the front windscreen had been smashed. Why? We don't know, as the car was empty apart from an ancient sat nav (brought over from home) on the dashboard. We had heard lots of noise last night but that is not uncommon as, although

Sumner is a small upmarket town, there is a problem all over New Zealand with boy racers. So basically, it was just idiots having fun! For us though it was a hassle. The car hire firm were basically useless as, although we had paid extra for windscreen and tyre cover, the company wanted the car back to their office at our expense, so that they could get the windscreen replaced. We decided we would use Karina's car for the weekend so suspended our car hire until Monday afternoon. So basically, we lost about 4 hours that day.
However, by taking the car back to the airport, Karina was able to be there to welcome Luke's parents from their flight in from Auckland.
We drove the beautiful scenic route (174kms) to Hanmer Springs which took about 2.5 hours. Hanmer used to be a Spa Town complete with hospital and other treatment centres. The hot and sometimes sulphur pools are open to the public and is a popular tourist venue, especially in the winter when snow can be all around.
We're staying at Cheltenham House, right in the centre, and is one of the older properties in the town furnished with very quirky items bought from churches, hospitals, nurses' homes etc. It is beautifully done and very comfortable. Len and Maree do a drinks' evening each day at 18.30 and we were there in time for that! We met the other guests - varying nationalities - and had a good chat with them all for well over an hour and enjoying several glasses of the delicious local wines. We had supper that night (on recommendation) at the Power House, the former home of the hydro-electric generator for all of Hamner.