Snow and swimming

Brendon took the day off and we headed up to Hanmer Springs.

We were hoping there may be some snow left up towards the ski fields so we found the road out of Hanmer and started heading up. The girls were excited to see the waterfalls along the way. Although that also indicated that there was a lot of melting happening and the chances of snow were less.

Rachel had hoped we would be able to get high enough to look down on clouds. So this was as close as we could get to that. She had hoped to see thick clouds but realized those are much higher in the air.

Once we were up the first part of the climb there were more mountain ranges. Unfortunately we missed the ski field turn (or rather went the direction the sign was pointing - which was wrong) and ended up having a very long drive along this area. Eventually we met another vehicle heading the other way - flagged them down and asked. They had been driving for 2 hours looking for the ski fields and were now heading back. So we both headed back and from the other direction saw that the sign was wrong. The road heading up to the ski field actually just looked like a drive into the property that was there. So we cautiously drove up and then further noticed a sign. I wonder how many other cars have miss-read there terrible signage.

The road up to the ski field was incredibly steep. Eventually Brendon just did not feel safe and so we turned around on one of these tight bends and headed down. Sorry girls. It looks like we will have to wait for next winter to get to play in snow. At least we know where to go next year. In the middle of winter you don't even have to drive up the ski field road - this entire area is full of snow. A thought that is quite incredible for me to try and comprehend. It will be amazing to see this area again next year.

The second part of the plan was a swim at the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools. We have residence cards which give us half price but have only ever been here once - when Hannah was just a couple of weeks old. So we had some lunch and then got ready for almost 2 hours in the pools. I got a couple of photos when we first arrived and then packed the camera and towels in a locker so that we could just move around between the different pools.

In the first photo Rachel was not facing the camera so I tried again. Just as we were counting down 4 or 5 people walked in front of the camera. So we were sure we would be hidden behind legs in this one.

This is the play pool with slides and a waterfall to go under. It's the coolest of the pools and so we did not stay in here long. The girls had a wonderful time and we ended it off with ice cream before heading home. It will be a day they remember for a long time.