Heading up to Hanmer

Saturday 13 June

A pinky pastel dawn at Amuri Manor on our last morning here - we packed up slowly, said our goodbyes to Sarah & Michael who were set for another day of renovation and restoration at their huge project. Always jobs to be done - Michael got the weed killer gig while Sarah had to attend to Princess Olivia’s patting requirements 🤣

We trekked over to Culverden to use the dump station and do a quick shop for essentials and another pie for Louis. A fabulous selection of pies at the Culverden Bakery - Louis chose WTF this time… Steak, onion, mushroom & cheese - Wow, That’s Fantastic. Doubled back and headed up towards the hills to the Hanmer NZMCA which was relatively busy for this time of year - 8-10 vans, more than we’ve seen for a while. Not looking busy as we turned in - but there were quite a few vans down the far end including a group from Rangiora & Kaiapoi who were having a lovely get together

After lunch we hopped on the bikes and cycled up the deceptive climb to Hanmer Springs for a wander & explore. Ooops - couldn’t resist the allure of a homemade gelato - passion fruit & crème brûlée for me and caramel ginger nut for Louis. We swung by the pie shop but it had closed for the day so we took silly photos instead. I loved the native bird murals on the side of one of the cafes - and the rainbow pride wall 🏳️‍🌈

They had a Tardis themed book swap library - Louis checked it out, and it most definitely was NOT bigger on the outside!

The ride home should have been an easier cruise downwards - but the wind got up and made it even harder than the cycle up!

Sausages on the BBQ for dinner - still eating supplies from our freezer that I bought at Pak’n’Save Timaru and their snags are awesome! Watched the Blues being annihilated by the Canes at the Cake Tin on TV... a taste of things to come? Settled in to bed with no frosty prep as the temperatures were well above zero and just got warmer through the night - bizarre!