On the way to Hanmer Springs we stopped in an 'old local pub' which reminded Si of the Plume of Feathers. We enjoyed a cider in the garden but it became chilly so we moved inside. Beside the bar was a guy wearing the Speights 'Southern Man' top and sporting a Speights logo tattoo on his upper arm. The only other person in the pub was a large chef who had a high pitched friendly voice - the kind you find on Balamory. The Southern man was warming up to a clay pigeon shooting event. We chatted to them both for a while. We were then joined by another local who drank a jug and a handle every night, He told us about the 18 people in town who are all part of the wine club. They get together two or three times a year for a binge session basically. We spoke a little about England and he was shocked about the prices of alcohol and fuel. The next time we went to the bar Local Man told Balamory Chef that happy hour starts at 23 minutes past 5 so we got jugs of beer for less than a pint! ($6.50 which is equivalent to 3 quid! Bargain!). Needless to say we had a VERY happy hour! It was really nice to meet some locals. We had an ostrich and cheese pie - the meat was yum! After a few attempts at pool and listening to the jukebox we gave up and headed back to the van to sleep. The next day we drove the short road - well it would have been shorter if we didn't get lost - to Hamner Springs. We arrived in town and had a look about. On the way in we had spotted a mini-golf so we went for a game. We also paid to do the maze as well. Unlike the previous time when I had completely kicked Simons ass at mini-golf, he beat me! I was shockingly bad and even hit the ball in the pond! We then went into the maze. Although it was intended for kids we went in and raced each other. We were given a sheet with symbols and blank spaces. We had to find the symbols and fill the blank spaces in with the words beneath each symbol. The words made a sentence and once complete you were rewarded with treasure! The maze had different parts to it. One room was pitch black with UV lights, another part had a wall that moved and began to fall as you passed by. On the last bit we had to step on stepping stones to avoid water being tipped on us. The kids would have loved it and I thought of them all as we went through. After all the excitement we made our way to the hot springs. For $14 we got to relax in hot pools ranging from 30' to 43' It was so relaxing. Si became bored and started splashing me but thankfully the lifeguard told him off! Not because he was disturbing the peace but the minerals in the water could cause eye irritation. The hottest pools were sulphur and absolutely stank! My skin felt gorgeous after two hours of soaking.