Upon our arrival at Hanmer Springs we could soon realise why it was a getaway for many. It seemed a very relaxing town with golf courses and pubs and also the hot pools and spa we had gone to see. We arrived at the hostel and it seemed very cosy and welcoming so we booked in for the night. We grabbed a map of the town and went to have a look around. After a quick lunch we stopped for a pint in Monteiths, a local brewery to sample their finest, which was very nice and we managed to get a quick rare glance of the Olympics. It didn't take long to look around the small town but as the weather wasn't great we decided to do the outdoor pools the following morning. So another relaxing evening ahead we stocked up on what we would have for dinner, which was a traditional chinese recipe we had learnt from Jeff in Picton, and headed back to the hostel. We got chatting to one of the Sharon who was working at the hostel and she kept a close eye over our cooking and was a keen taste tester. We then all had a few games of Jenga listening to some music then decided to call it a night and retreat to our comfy beds. We woke up had a quick breakfast and headed off to the hot pools in town. There were about 7 different pools to get in and we jumped straight into one of the warmest at 40 degrees. After testing out all of the pools we then thought we would give the sulphur pools a try which were apparently hotter. Little did we know that sulphur pools were not so easy on the nose as they smelt of rotten eggs. After only about a minute of enduring the smell we showered, got dressed and set about planning our next route. We were intending on heading to Hokitika on the west coast to see a relative of Ian's who he had never seen before and we both wanted to travel from east to west via Arthur's pass. This is a scenic route joining the west and east coastlines boasting the highest settlement point of new Zealand. So after a quick detour back to hostel to collect some food we had left and to say goodbye we were back on the road heading towards Arthur's pass.