Hanmer Springs and Marlborough Sounds

So, after all the hiking on glaciers we were in need of a little tlc and so headed to Hanmer Springs. Town of thermal springs! Bliss! There were so many pools to choose from but the highlight was definitely the sulphur pools. At 41C and stinking of egg our skins felt all shiny and soft! We also managed to squeeze in quick game of mini golf for David to get his revenge from Oz, before hitting the road again.

On the way to Picton we found various seal colonies! There were hundreds of the buggers and they had a bit of a whiff about them. Arriving in Picton David booked his mountain biking on the Queen Charlotte Track.

We found a little bay to camp down for night which was crawling with rabbits - hundreds of little red and white eyes hopping about the place en-route to the toilet! We woke early the following day to catch the sunrise and head over to the main harbour for David to catch a boat to start the two day 50km mountain bike track. After waving goodbye to Nic the boat cruised through Queen Charlotte Sound where David was greeted by some blue penguins (the smallest in the world!.) After arriving at Ship cove and a quick history lesson about Captain Cook the riding began, well, not for a hour anyway - it was so steep and slippery the trampers were finding it hard getting to the top! The downhill however afterwards was worth the effort. It was rough - steep, rocky, full of roots, drops, drainage gulley's to hop over - pretty much the works! This trend seemed to continue until our reunion at the half way point, where Nic had driven right the way round enjoying the views and extremely curvy road!

Setting of on an adventure!

The start...

Waiting for Nic.....

After spending another night at a beautiful bay/inlet, we woke at dawn again for the second day of biking - this was pretty much the same as the first. The downhills were a wee longer and full of muddy corners to drift around whilst trying not to go over the edges which were very steep at times! Nic was waiting at the end after checking out jelly fish infested bays and relaxing in the campervan with a glass of wine!

After a downhill section on the mountain behind

Nic's view from the camper, complete with vino.......

A well deserved rest!

That night we headed out to another part of the Marlborough Sounds after yet another endless switchback road and camped at a little fishing village. That night was the worst nights sleep so far - the wind and rain was immense. We were at last experiencing the full brunt of this so called rain! The suspension on the campervan was creaking because it was so windy. At 4am we nearly up sticks and headed for Nelson, but managed to stick it out!