Hanmer’s new lease on life

Hanmer Springs is Canterbury’s recreational heart, with the natural hot springs to which this tantalising township owes its name offering a respite for bustling city dwellers

Now it’s set to get bigger and better than ever before, with plans for five new thermal pools and a new aquatic thrill ride. General Manager Graeme Abbot says construction on the $4.3 million development will begin in April 2019 and be completed in late 2019.

The five new pools will sit among river boulder terraces and native gardens on what is currently a grassed area next to the Rainbow Pools. A lot of time and effort has gone into ensuring plans for the new development are environmentally sustainable. The new 13.5 metre high slide will attach to the complex’s existing hydroslide tower and sit next to the SuperBowl, where the complex’s AquaPlay area currently is.

“Riders will shoot down a winding hydroslide in two-person tubes, before going down a steep drop that propels them up a near-vertical wall for a moment of weightlessness before zooming back down and onto the slide’s finish,” Graeme says. The pools’ have lodged a resource consent application for the development with the Hurunui District Council, this will be a publicly notified process so people can make submissions on the application.

“Those we have spoken to thus far are incredibly excited about this development’s potential to make Hanmer Springs even more popular with visitors and boost local businesses.”