Hanmer Springs – 5 reasons to go by bike

Biking to Hanmer Springs

From Waipara, 78.7km

Hanmer Springs and Hurunui rate among my favourite places in the world. It’s a combination of good memories, magical landscapes and the fact I can get there on my bike in one day from Christchurch. With a hot date at “The Spa at Hanmer Springs,” not to mention a wee appointment on the Waiau Gorge bungy platform, I split the trip in half. This meant parking my car at Waipara’s Mud House Winery and biking into the Hurunui hills (at this point feeling like the luckiest person in the world).

Over 78.7km I hoped to get to Hanmer Springs by midday. At my 7:30am departure Waipara was 20 degrees, so hard to imagine a better day from the start. The Hurunui hills were stunning against a sheer blue sky; coming from flat and tropical Florida I couldn’t imagine a more exotic horizon.

Hanmer Springs and Hurunui

There’s nothing nicer than being warm – even on a bike – the weather was absolutely inspiring and the traffic was polite. Hardly better conditions for a bike ride, first to Waikari, then on past famous Frog Rock, an H20 refill in Culverden and then a cruise (given Culverden’s 42km milestone and its ’second half’ sensation) to Hanmer Springs.

Why bike to Hanmer Springs? My 5 best reasons.

Bungy jumping – even more of a thrill than I thought (why do it in Hanmer Springs? it changes your perspective forever on a place – and a bridge – you thought you knew so well!)

Bungy jumping in Hanmer Springs

Lunch at the Heritage – starring Amuri salmon and the most gorgeous roast potatoes

The Spa at Hanmer Springs treatment – nothing like an alpine aqua facial to soothe bikers’ windburn

HS Thermal Pools – and hydroslides..hoo yeah

The Waiau Gorge view (pictured below)

Waiau Gorge

Deal of the day?

My $2.50 cola slushy at the Log Cabin

What I’ll write home about?

The Heritage lunch with a menu sourced from all local produce, black currant jam to Amuri walnuts – after 78km I had to pinch myself before picking up the fork.

And catching up with Lisa from Amuri Estate Retreat. If you haven’t seen their olive groves then you haven’t really been to Hanmer Springs.