{"id":332,"date":"2026-01-25T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sjs.sputs.com\/wordpress\/?p=332"},"modified":"2026-04-02T20:15:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T02:15:20","slug":"2026-day-3-hanmer-springs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sjs.sputs.com\/wordpress\/2026\/01\/25\/2026-day-3-hanmer-springs\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Day 3 Hanmer Springs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

January 25, 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The day started out cloudy and drizzly, so we decided to drive into town and eat out for breakfast at the Mumble's Cafe. I had the salmon benny with potatoes and fresh spinach. This was the very first time in my life that I had tried eggs Benedict, and it was delicious. Heinrich had the Big Breakfast with scrambled eggs on toast.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Our breakfasts at the Mumble's Cafe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

After breakfast we took a walk around the outskirts of town. The Queen Mary Hospital Reserve had park-like grounds with trails running throughout the property, and we admired the trees. We walked north past the golf course and then returned to town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tunnel of trees on the grounds at the Queen Mary Hospital Reserve<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In town there was a farmer's market going on. I finally got some New Zealand cash from a nearby ATM, and we bought some fresh vegetables. One booth was selling varieties of New Zealand honey and giving samples. I tried the manuka honey and discovered I did not care for the taste. But I did buy two jars of the local brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Treats from the farmer's market<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Downtown Hanmer Springs. Heinrich is investigating the menu of pies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The weather had not improved and light rain was coming down. I got a message from my friend in Hawaii that episode 41 of the Kilauea volcano had started and was attaining record-breaking heights (1,575 feet!). So we stopped at the bakery, bought a chocolate eclair and a chocolate cluster scroll, and drove back to our room to eat our treats and watch the volcano erupt via the webcam view on the big screen TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weather cleared a bit, so I ventured out to the Woodland Walk one more time to take some photos of the nearby stream which now had rushing water from all of the rainfall. I followed a different path back for a new adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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