Mention “Hanmer Springs” to Kiwis and two things come to mind – the drug and alcoholic residential hospital in town, and the hot mineral springs. The historic Queen Mary Hospital was built in 1916 to rehabilitate shell shocked soldiers from the First World War. The Chisholm Ward was built 10 years after the octagonal Soldiers Block, followed by the Rutherford Ward. In the 1960s and 70s the hospital evolved into the drug and alcohol treatment centre that is on mostly remembered for. Set in beautiful grounds amongst large towering oaks, the hospital buildings have been long closed, only offering us a peek through the windows into the empty stripped out rooms.
Things were humming right next door to the hospital at the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools. The pools and adjacent spa recently underwent a $3.5 million upgrade, and over half a million visitors come to enjoy the waters each year. The springs were well known to the local Maori people but were “discovered” by William Jones in 1859 when he noticed steam drifting across his path when he was on the banks of the Percival River.
From these small beginning the pools have been developed and extended. Men and women bathed separately in the early days, and nude bathing was usual. Originally a piece of clothing, either trousers or a skirt, was hoisted up a pole to show which gender was using the pool.
We purchased a “Senior Two Day Pass” and enjoyed our first delightful dip last night after an early dinner. With so many pools on offer we were hard pressed to try them all. We started with one of the three hexagonal pools, with a temperature hovering between 38-40 degrees. Ah, what bliss! But the Aqua Therapy pools were even more blissful, as the strong bubbles of water kneaded the kinks from our backs and shoulders. This is the life.
What’s next? Perhaps we’ll try one of the sulphur pools. These are set at 40-42 degrees and the water feels soft and silky while the smell of sulphur wafts around our heads. We cooled down a little with a visit to one of the Rock Pools, set at 33-37 degrees. We finished off with a visit to the Fresh Water pools, set at 28 degrees. Now that certainly cooled us down! That Lazy River ride looks fun, we decided. We grabbed a “pool toy” (foam rubber) shaped in the form of a frog, plonked our middle aged bodies on top, and were carried by the strong current around and around the lazy river. Look out kids, we’re coming through. That’s enough excitement for one one, and we will be back in the morning for our second visit to this wonderful establishment. At 380 metres above sea level, this is the place to come in the depths of winter when the (currently) bare hills would be covered in snow. How wonderful that would be.
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