Minigolf may just be the greatest game of all time. I’ve often said I would be a happy man if I could run my own mini golf centre… but I digress.
This place was immaculate. Ruth and I have visited A LOT of mini golf places around and we have seen some shockingly run down stuff, (I still wake up in a cold sweat thinking about that poor run down dinosaur place in Rotorua.) but this place looked like it had JUST been built!
There were 2 courses, and you could choose either or both, (not really a choice, I HAD to do both, and, while each is wild west themed, they each have their own gimmick.
We played the out doors one first. This was close to the kind of minigolf you see in movies, it had mechanisms that launched balls, water traps, secret path ways, automated reactions… Wow…
After we dodged the squirting water barrel and finished the first 18 holes it was time to don our (clear, uncoloured,) 3d specs and head in to the Black Light lit inner 18 holes.
Here our goggles reacted with the light and the paint work to create staggering 3d effects on 2d objects. It caused Ruth much mirth as I would trip over things that weren’t there and collide with things that were.
Two very even matches later we were so awe struck that Ruth almost left still holding a golf club.
After the nice person behind the counter collected it and sent us on our way, we later learnt that he was actually Peggy’s son Daniel, and we would all catch up later at the BBQ that evening.
Note my orange ball being fired from the old whisky still!
Its so nice to be able to leisurely climb out of a bed and not have to worry about check out time, so that’s exactly how I started my next day.
It’s been a real blast staying with Graham, Peggy and Sara, we have not wanted for delicious food, MORE delicious food, random discussions, (about things as diverse as the origins of greensleaves as a tune on Mr whippy trucks, to how people break “the internet,”) game playing, and laughter. Top!
So, after I was up and ready we headed into the city to complete some more list and be as touristy as we could.
Finding a GIANT MALL, (split into two section, I guess to stop its gravity from dislodging THE MOON!) we broke out the left hand rule and went exploring.
In no time we were guzzling food court eats, slurping Starbucky treats, and lounging around a massive Borders bookstore like we owned the place.
It was at the last location that Ruth put on her thinking hat and found a lonely planet guide to New Zealand.
No, of course we didn’t buy it, that would be silly!
Instead she diligently flipped to the Christchurch section and checked out what was to do.
Only 2 big draw cards were listed as must do’s and one was the museum.
Having been to a museum that had a FREAKIN RAIN FOREST in it all ready we presumed that this one would have a bit of an up hill battle on its hands to compete.
So we opted for tourist destination #2: The Antarctic Centre!
After swooning at the cost of admission (which we later agreed was pretty good for the content,) we donned our pink admission wristbands and toddled in.
I’m sure there were other things to take in on the way in but the things that clearly light up my memories were: The indoor snow, the Antarctic storm room, the penguin feeding, the MASSIVE movie wall of landscapes from that fascinating place, and our “hagland” ride.
The snow: as you wander into a large room kitted out with a diorama of the area around one of the bases, you find that snow slowly drifts down from the “sky.”
It really sells the illusion, up to the point the “snow” (which is a bit like tiny shredded soap foam) dissolves moments after it lands on you leaving no trace it had ever existed.
Next up we went and stared at the penguins.
I think Ruth may steal one before the trip is through, and I cant blame her, they really are the cutest little animals! They keep waggling their little buts and falling over like little clowns.
But This time round we got to watch them get feed from beneath the glass screen, itself below the water the penguins were swimming in!
MAN! Those little bumbling fools can MOVE in water! Gone is the clumsiness and it is in turn replaced by a fluid grace… and fish swallowing hunger!
These guys rule!
Next up we donned the provided coats and over shoes and traipsed into the storm room.
Here we experienced a brief but powerful recreation of an Antarctic storm.
I’m not sure there is much more to say about this other that it is really a tad chilly, especially if you’re in shorts like we were!
That said, not as bad as I suspected it would get, a lot of the more foreign tourists went very quiet and still in the midst of the heart of the storm, mean while I trudged around trying to find the coldest place to stand… I wanted my moneys worth of suffering!
The frosty adventurers!
After leaving that experience (and waiting for my glasses to defog in the regular climate,) we read the little wall charts and information boxes through out the place and generally behaved like tourists in a museum.
One right turn landed us very close to a very large screen that played a movie montage of scenes from the Antarctic.
Particularly memorable was the ENOURMOUS shot of the white expanse beneath the blue sky, and wondering if it was heavens, sea or snow.
Also wondrous was the sped up shot of the suns passage through the sky there and how instead of rising and falling like ours does as it arcs along, it had “bounce” in its flight path, and it never crossed the horizon.
After taking our fill of the centre we exited to a line that waited for a “hagland” ride.
These are the military vehicles they use to get around in the alien landscape.
As a man that has never been on a roller coaster, I now have a better idea of what to expect should I find that situation changed.
We shot up massive blind inclines before launching across crevices, bouncing off elevations and plummeting into water so deep the machine had to “swim”
Wicked!
Parking would NOT be a problem with one of these babies!
It finally ended and we disembarked and toddled back to our cars, well satisfied with this “touristing.”
That night great piles of vegetarian nachos were inhaled and pavlova followed once more with Bavarian treats, mice pies, custard, berries… yeah, you see what I mean about not wanting for food.
Lastly Ruth caught up with her cousin Rachel, who lives (relatively,) close by and her Partner Kent, and much nattering was done.
Sleep once more at hand we looked a little around the internet to discover a bit more about our next stop, and then closed our eyes to collect our thoughts about all we had seen and what was in store at Hanmer Springs.
1 comment:
Great to catch up with your travels. Sounds like you could become professional tourists. Really thrilled that all sounds to be going well, except for the weather, and the driving experiences continue to mount up. Maybe Scott could drive a Tourist Mini Bus around all the mini-golf courses in NZ, staying in camping grounds? Hope you are both still fit and well and continue to enjoy your adventure, especially those hot pools at Hanmer. Luv M & D.
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