A few weeks back we spent about a week travelling. We found ourselves in Hanmer Springs for a night both going to and returning from Christchurch. I know travel might not be something you might be doing for a while, but when you do I hope this will be helpful for you. For those in New Zealand already I hope you find this useful this summer.
On the way down from the Top of the South, we stopped for some play in nature at Nelson Lakes. This was so much colder than we expected it to be at the end of October! It was chilly, but thankfully, not uncomfortably so. The lake was beautiful. There were a whole bunch of eels hanging out around the little pier, which M found fascinating. M also made friends with some cheeky and very comfortable ducks and black-billed seagulls (which are protected here). We stayed for a while to use the facilities, then went for a short walk amongst the trees where the boys enjoyed finding sticks and pretended to go fishing. We weren't able to follow the track to its conclusion due to time, but it was definitely doable for our two little people. M and A also enjoyed spending time at the little playground by the lake too (city kids!). During the winter months, this area gets snow sometimes, it must be beautiful. It's a great little spot to stop for a quick lunch or snack to break the journey, but please remember you have to take your rubbish etc with you.
We arrived in Hanmer Springs in the early evening. The place we booked was spotless, we booked through Airbnb and were not disappointed. Rose met us at the property with the keys and gave us a quick rundown of the place. The boys were delighted to be offered a basket of toys to play with while I got on to cooking a quick dinner. After dinner, the children took great pleasure in using the bathtub. Then stories and bed. The beds were a little high, but the floors had soft carpet. No one fell off the bed in the night so no dramas.
When we got to Christchurch, we had some time to kill before checking in to our Airbnb, so we went to the library. My, what a lovely library. It was so family-friendly. Every day we were there we had to go and visit. A had fallen in love with the Imagination Station, it was a Lego section with mini pools of different Lego pieces. There was even a big pool of Duplo for the smaller children. The children's library also had many fun reading nooks, a slide, dress-up nook, large screen where we saw children doing Just Dance together and an area for families to sit and eat. The staircase was apparently based on the Hogwarts staircase (this one doesn't move of course). As you move up the library, it becomes quieter and more for the grown-up people. The ground floor has a cafe, high tables with puzzles and games to play and of course more books. It is definitely a place I can see myself getting comfortable in.
I was told a must-do in Christchurch was the Margaret Mahy playground, which was also a hit with the children. It's a large playspace with sand, water, climbing, slides, jumping, swinging, spinning - you name it. The kids really enjoyed the waterplay area and the Archimede's screw in the sand and water areas. I've included some photos for your enjoyment.
As we only had a few days in Christchurch and we didn't want to break the bank we choose only a few things they had to offer. There is a lot to do, however, I'm just going to speak to what we did. Our boys are really interested in vehicles and things that move, so that was our focus on this trip. We bought the Tram and Gondola pass and I'm so glad we did. We spent the entire day just exploring the city via tram, bus and gondola. We did stop at the museum, unfortunately, it was the one day the Discovery Area at the museum was closed, but we did catch the tail end of a storytime session and the Moon exhibition. The Moon exhibition wasn't extensive, but it was enough for our little ones. They enjoyed playing with the magnetic wooden blocks on offer, pressing buttons at Mission Control and watching how future moon habitation might look like. I should mention we did do some tree climbing next to the museum, I highly recommend it. The 'octopus' tree is clearly a well-loved climbing tree and I can see why!
The tram was fun, we ended up getting to ride 3 different trams that day. The drivers were very nice, not as friendly as I imagined they would be from all the reviews about them, but friendly enough. They had some interesting information to share, which I enjoyed listening to while riding. We then grabbed the public bus to the gondola, the staff at the gondola were extremely friendly and very helpful. We spent at most an hour at the top, there is a Time Tunnel ride at the top as well as lovely views over the area below. The children enjoyed listening for and spotting sheep while on the gondola.
As I mentioned, we didn't have a lot of time in Christchurch. The only two other specifically child-friendly things we did were head to a bicycle track in Westburn Reserve, which the boys ended up mostly playing in the playground at. We also headed to the Air Force Museum of NZ, which was free entry, but we ended up paying for a tour because we thought the boys would be interested in seeing the workshop. I have to say though the boys enjoyed their time there, I probably wouldn't recommend the tour unless you are a hardcore plane fan or own your own aircraft. I was slightly uncomfortable during the tour, as there was a lot of talk about how many planes one had, among other things, which didn't sit well with me personally.
The tram drivers all recommended Riverside Markets in town, so we obviously had to visit. Coming from Perth, I imagined it to be similar to Freo Markets, but it's not. It is a nice upmarket looking food court, with some nice little crafty/knickknack shops at the entrance. The food was delightful and we enjoyed watching some yummy treats being made before our eyes. Yum Yum! Speaking of yum yum, it was Friday Street Food Market near the cathedral and the burrito I got from one of the food trucks there was delicious. Also delicious was Rollickin Gelato, we went 2 different branches and happened to be served by the same person, who had an impressive memory and was extremely friendly. Definitely check them out.
Our accommodation in Christchurch was through Airbnb again. It was a one-bedroom townhouse walking distance to Margaret Mahy. It was so conveniently located we ended up leaving our car parked there (I'm not a fan a the parking situation in Christchurch) and walked into town.
Back in Hanmer Springs we, unfortunately, couldn't get Rose's house again, as she was fully booked. We stayed at Alpine Holiday Apartments & Campground. They had just gotten new owners, who were both very welcoming. The place was basic and clean.
The next day we spent most of the morning doing the Easy Rider Track with the boys on their bikes, after what was probably 2 hours of riding we had to find a shortcut to get back to our car as the boys were done. It was probably just a little too far for our 2-year-old on his own bike. He did really enjoy the pump track he found in the forest though! After a big bike ride, we grabbed lunch in town. I can recommend the pizza place. Then the rest of the day was spent playing in the hot pools. Remember if you're an AA member you get a discount at the pools. We then grabbed fish and chips for the boys and hopped in the car home.
I'm not a travel writer, so if you have any questions feel free to ask. I'm not affiliated with any of the places mentioned, these are my own thoughts and opinions.
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