Flavour is the reason you should read this review... There's a new* Indian and Indo-Chinese restaurant in the village, one that we expect will rapidly become one of the top 3 restaurants in Hanmer Springs. They do all the familiar Indian main dishes plus some you've probably not seen elsewhere, however one thing you will notice with all of them, that the flavours are something else! They use original spices and it is noticeable in the flavour. Delicious! Good sized servings meant, by the time we'd finished eating, we ended up with take-away…continue reading →

Like you and many others, I've often used Online Travel Agencies (OTA's) such as BookingCom, Expedia, Agoda, etc. It's easier to see a quick overview of what's available and compare prices between places. And then there are comparison sites such as Trivago. And AirBnB is cheap isn't it? But is it really as good as they advertise? Let's take a closer look at each of the impressions we get from their advertising. This article covers: prices, availability, making comparisons, reviews, best price guaranteed, no hidden costs, nothing can go wrong, who will help…continue reading →

Wednesday night's special at the Saints bar restaurant here in Hanmer Springs, is 2-for-1 stone grill. Having never tried a stone grill before, I couldn't imagine it would be so easy, or so tasty. We tried both the venison and the beef steaks. They came out on a flat lava stone which had apparently been heated to 400°C! It meant that we could slice off pieces of meat and cook them to perfection, every piece. As we sliced, cooked and ate, the stone slowly cooled, so the meat never got over-cooked or cold. The roasted…continue reading →

Just 15 minutes drive from Hanmer Springs is the newly renamed Waiau River Estate. Formerly known as Marble Point Winery, it changed name when it changed hands recently, with the new owner, Conrad, being the son of the previous owners. We dropped in on a mid-week sunny afternoon and tried a $5 wine tasting, where we could sample the wines grown on the estate. Conrad certainly knows the wines well, and the cheese board he made up for us for $50 was great, as was the coffee we were served.   With a…continue reading →

A helicopter ride is an amazing way to see the beauty of New Zealand from a completely different angle. We've taken 2 flights with Amuri Helicopters now, the first was in winter with the snow on the mountains and we could land up on a mountain peak for an amazing view and photo stop. The second time was in autumn. We were picked up in Kaikoura, flew north past all the repair work on the State Highway 1, over the wine districts to the Marlborough Sounds and north west to see the Able…continue reading →

To get an introduction to the beauty of the back country landscapes, and the history of the St. James station area just behind Hanmer Springs, four of us took a half day trip with Andrew in his Land Rover 4WD. We felt safe in the hands of Andrew, who knew the roads, the weather conditions and the countryside like the back of his hand. Andrew took us to some stunning remote wilderness locations (with no mobile phone coverage, but Andrew has a satellite phone, just in case). This is a great way to…continue reading →

We first visited this restaurant back in July 2017 not long after it first opened. We've been back many times and they never fail to deliver. Now they've attained the #1 spot on Trip Advisor for restaurants in Hanmer Springs. At MK-Restaurant*, be prepared for amazing flavour sensations in every dish, everything so fresh tasting and locally sourced - some of it from the local forest. Oh and make sure you have room for desert. This is Michelin quality cooking - we're just lucky these two chefs like to live in Hanmer Springs.…continue reading →

Summer means that the Power House Cafe is also open for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights. We know their breakfast and lunch menus are wonderful so we tried them out last Saturday night for dinner and were blown away by the menu ...and the food lived up to the expectations set by the menu! You need to book in advance as they only seat 30. I forgot to take photos of the mains, but here are 3 of the desserts we had: Dark chocolate pave (for serious chocoholics) with black currant and…continue reading →

There's a new "must do" when you visit Hanmer Springs next ...the new "MK Restaurant" has a menu full of incredible flavours (just a short walk from Tussock Peak Motor Lodge, we'll give you directions).continue reading →