We got up early again, as usualy, and continued our drive south. We drove through the central part of the south island, heading towards Hanmer Springs. Hanmer Springs is one of the major tourist destinations in New Zealand, bosting several hot springs, horseback riding, ATV tours, and all other manner of activities. We arrived in the early afternoon to find the place packed with people. We actually had a hard time finding a parking spot amidst all of the other cars. We checked in at the hot springs, but decided that since it was only a short drive from Christchurch, and since neither of us had swimsuits, that we would come back later. We continued onward, having to backtrack slightly to get back to the main road that would lead us to Christchurch. As we reentered the wine country north of Christchurch, we stopped for lunch at the guidebook reccomended Waipara Springs Winery. Wine tasting was only four dollars, and we got to try all of their wines. For some reason we didn't get charged for our tasting though. We had a salmon and cream cheese pizza on homemade dough that was an amazing taste sensation. I've never had salmon on pizza before, or cream cheese for that matter, and it took enormous amounts of will power to not gorge myself and eat the whole thing. While we were ordering a freak storm crept up and made us move inside out of what had been a very nice sunny day. Extreme winds lashed the tent that was used as a makeshift restaraunt and we worried at bit that we were going to be blown away. Luckily our camper can is quite the sturdy little vehicle so we had no problem with the rest of our drive to Christchurch.
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