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Hello again!
Yesterday we woke up bright and early to go to Hanmer Springs. We set off at about 9 so that we would make it in time for our first excursion, quadbiking! The journey is about 3 hours from Geraldine, passing through Christchurch halfway.
Nothing much really happened on the journey there and we made it to Hanmer at about 12:15, plenty of time to get our bearings before quadbiking. We went into the springs info thingy to find out where Rosie and Chris' FOUR STAR hotel was and about their free massage and private pool things that were included. Josh and I weren't as fortunate, but were staying in a backpackers that was only 300m from the hot springs.
We waited outside the adventure shop for our instructor who would take us to the site via minibus. Rosie didn't come with us, and she stayed behind to mooch around Hanmer and check-in at the hotel and move the car into the car park.
The quadbiking site was about 10 minutes in the middle of no-where. The instructor had told Rosie that we wouldn't be coming back and to expect her at 7 o'clock when he'd take her out for dinner!
We signed some death waivers and got kitted out in ultra sexy waders, with boots attached, and a waterproof jacket and helmet. We were then told how to ride the quads and the types of things we should expect along the course. After a quick training run, we set off around the course.
There was still quite alot of snow left from a few days before and alot of the course was covered, making our quads skid out at the backs around corners. I disappeared for a few minutes when my quad got stuck going around a bend with a slight hill on it, and my quad was skidding the opposite way to which I wanted to go. I had to let myself roll back down and try again. The others were waiting for me quite a way down the track, all laughing at me!
I didn't feel quite so bad about it when Josh had trouble getting up a snowy hill and had to have the instructor take his quad up for him! haha vengance is best served covered in cold, cold snow! Chris went next and managed no problem (smart arse!) and then I couldn't get up either, even the instructor had trouble getting my quad up, and I had to be a passenger on his up the hill.
Meanwhile, Chris and Josh were doing donuts in a little clearing at the bottom of the hill... Boys will be boys! Then we set off again around the course, splashing through ginormous puddles and getting our faces splashed in mud! At the end of the track were some Manuka honey bee hives which looked very frozen over, poor bees. That was the point at which we turned around and headed back to the beginning. All the while we'd been riding along, we frequently stopped to have our pictures taken and had an action shot going through a big fjord, all of which got put onto a CD for us, included in the price of the activity.
After getting back, we went in the hot springs for a few hours to relax from a hard days travelling and biking. Afterwards, Josh and I retired to our hostel, which was very comfortable and made ourselves a cuppa tea. Up in the TV/lounge area was a guitar which I attempted to tune (not too badly either!) and played a few songs while we waited for Rosie and Chris to come out of the springs. A group of kiwis heard me playing and came up to listen and we chatted to them too, which was nice to have some other travellers to talk to.
We came back to the springs the next morning and part of the afternoon, when Rosie and Chris made full use of their free massage and steam room, disappearing for a few hours! There was a really friendly group from a special unit school for naughty kids (ringing a bell dad?) who were out for the day as their "friday trip". The kids were really nice and we were chatting to one of the teachers Simon for a bit which was cool. After getting thoroughly pruney and sulphury, we got out and decided to head back home to Geraldine.
We arrived to find Bear Grylls cooking a snake over a fire in the garden (pasta bolognese) and sat at the dinner table talking about how cool we were at school playing Pogs and laughing lots at Bear's unfortunate incident with a burly older girl with cleptomania!
So a very eventful, and relaxing 2 days for us, and waiting for the next trip out of number 42.
Night! x
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