A friend of my sister’s, who lives in Christchurch, recommended we hike up the popular track to Mount Isobel for scenic views of the Hanmer Basin and once we arrived in the small township, that seemed indeed an obvious choice as the mountain rises just next to Hanmer overlooking the plains.

There are several tracks that lead to the summit, so we decided to combine the Mount Isobel Track with the Waterfall Track into a loop route for more variety. If you follow this route, it’s a steady climb through the forest at first which thins into scrubby bush where the trail meets a junction with the Waterfall Track. The bush itself then yields to grassland below the ridge and eventually transitions into almost alpine terrain scarcely dotted with tussocks.

Already as you approach the summit on the ridge to its southwest, the views of the Hanmer Basin on a fine day will be spectacular. From the top at 1324m, Hanmer township, small as it is, is dwarfed yet further by the distance and the vast extent of the Hanmer Plain stretching towards surrounding mountain ranges in all directions. The Organ Range southwest of Hanmer is itself followed by another plain and some hillocks rolling to the far-off Pacific Ocean. You could spend hours soaking up the views but the summit tends to be windy and a little chilly even in summer. Definitely take a sweater or windbreaker on an overcast day.

Beyond the first junction, coming down the mountain, follow the Waterfall Track that zigzags down the steep slope to the waterfalls. After 40min Mullan Road forks off to the left, but head towards Jolliffe Staddle that merges into Jollife Road, turn right, and right again when you get to Pawson Road, and you’ll be back where you left your car.

After the hike, we did what most people do in Hanmer Springs: sit and soak in the mineral-rich thermal hot pools. The lovely hot water, I was surprised to learn, is rainwater and snow that fell 173 years ago and seeped into basement rock two kilometres underground. Being a little closer to the earth’s core, the water heats up and starts to rise to the surface, on the way picking up minerals and sometimes a distinct rotten-egg Sulphur smell before it re-emerges with temperatures of up to 42°.