Ice and Snow

Once again a very cold and frosty morning, and so it would be at -5 deg. Frost all around again outside but we were warm inside the Yurt. Can tick that of the list of accomodation we have stayed at, probably will not do that again. Interesting but the double bed was a bit sad as Jenny and Larry kept rolling to the middle of it.

We were unsure of the road condition of the Kaikoura Inland road but after a bit of research there were no road closures for that road. There was no sign at the start of the Inland road saying road closed so we took off for Hanmer Springs. Jenny drove very cautiously as there was patches of black ice on the road. Larry and Jenny were both looking for patches of ice and there were a lot of caution signs about the ice so we knew where the dangerous sections were.

We made it safely to Hanmer Springs and called into Thrillseekers Canyon and booked a quad bike ride for the four of us. It wasn't until 2pm so we ventured into the town itself and had a look around, snow and slush all around and quite a busy little town. We headed back out to the quad bike area and watched a couple of people doing bungy jumps from the bridge, no thanks. The guide turned up and we headed over to get our gumboots and helmuts and then down to the quad bikes for our instruction. A few little laps of the test track to make sure we were listening and off we went. Jenny and Chloe by themselves and Kate on a tandem quad behind Larry. We spent two hours going through mud, ice, slush, water and snow and had an absolute ball. A highlight of the trip so far and Larry has about about hour of footage on the Go Pro that has to be converted.

After the quad bikes we went back the town and checked in to our motel. As we only had brunch an early dinner was called for so we had pizza and then headed over across the road to the thermal pools. These are outside and here we are wondering around between pools in about - 5deg. What an experience, we are glad we did it. Expected low for here tonight is -10 so we are glad to back into a motel room.

Average internet here tonight so no pics. A long day tomorrow as we have to cross over more mountains to reach the west coast then down to Franz Joseph for a couple of nights.