36 hours in Hanmer
by Metropol | October 28, 2026 8:33 am
Spend 36 hours in Hanmer Springs with Metropol editor Nina Tucker.
I’m a seasoned Hanmer Springs traveller, and I always seem to find something new to do each time I visit. Here’s how my partner and I spent a weekend in the alpine village this spring.
Saturday
Something in my soul will always pull me towards a market (or anything where I can buy locally-made and artisanal goods), so we made a pitstop at the Amberley Farmers Market on our way to Hanmer Springs. From 9am to 12.30pm, the front of the Hurunui District Council buildings fills up with makers, growers and crafters. There’s nothing more wholesome than seeing a community come together and showcase their craft and individuality. We fell in love with a stall called Sew Awesome and bought two beautiful handmade and personalised cushions for our nieces.
Arrival in the alpine village meant one thing: soak off the drive at Elemental, the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa’s new contrast therapy experience. From fiery sauna to steam room, before stepping inside an icy space where snowflakes fall from the ceiling, Elemental energised me as much as it decompressed me. A spring wellness reset, if you will. To finish and balance our bodies, we soaked in a 40-degree private pool powered by geo-thermal energy.
Back to our hotel to refresh, and then a stroll through the village where we came across Pixel Planet and couldn’t resist. Inside the futuristic, family-friendly interactive gaming and virtual reality entertainment center, we took on the pixel grid and rollercoaster-like simulators. A quick change (you’ll work up a sweat on the pixel grid), and dinner and dessert became our last activity of the day.
Sunday
Sundays often start with a run in our house, so we welcomed a pleasing change of scenery – snowy mountain peaks, fresh alpine air, and the sweetest cows saying hello. A big breakfast followed, to fuel a walk around the Hanmer Heritage Forest’s Amble Sculpture trail, where we met intricately crafted wooden characters – squirrels, bears, orangutans, birds – all in 30 minutes.
We stopped back in the village once more (for a taste of the ‘not so humble’ award-winning PJ’s Pies) and then started the journey home.
Once we hit Waikuku, we turned into The Mill, a collective of local art, unique gifts and pre-loved fashion home to North Canterbury creatives. Warming up with a drink at the neighbouring Cocoa Black felt fitting, ahead of a short 450m drive to the Old School Collective right down the road. It’s a destination for those with a love of boutique stores, great food and coffee, (basically I’m their target customer). Stopping into every (and any) independent store that champions local creativity is a cornerstone of any Kiwi road trip and was the best way to end 36 hours in Hanmer Springs.
Source URL: https://metropol.co.nz/36-hours-in-hanmer/