Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The area has some interesting tramps, passing through beech forest with a backdrop of
snowcapped mountains, lakes, and alpine tarns and rivers. Popular tracks include the
St
James Walkway
(66km; three to five days) and the paths through
Lake Sumner Forest
Park
; see the Department of Conservation (DOC) pamphlet
Lake Sumner & Lewis Pass
($2). Subalpine conditions apply, so make sure you sign the intentions books at the huts.
Maruia Springs
( 03-523 8840;
www.maruiasprings.co.nz
;
SH7; d $179-199; pools
8am-7.30pm; )
is a small, Japanese-style hot-spring resort on the banks of the Maruia
River, 7km west of Lewis Pass, with elegant minimalist accommodation, a cafe-bar and a
Japanese restaurant (breakfast and dinner only). In the thermal pools (adult/child $20/9,
free for guests), water with black mineral flakes of 'hot spring flowers' is pumped into a
gender-segregated traditional Japanese bathhouse and outdoor rock pools. It's a magical
setting during a winter snowfall, but mind the sandflies in summer. Massages (30/60
minutes $48/90) and private spa houses (45 minutes $26) are available.
From Lewis Pass the highway wiggles east for 62km before reaching the turn-off to
Hanmer Springs.
MAORI NZ: CANTERBURY
Only 14% of Maori live on the South Island but of those, half of them live in Canter-
bury. The first major tribe to become established here were Waitaha, who were
subsequently conquered and assimilated into the Ngati Mamoe tribe in the 16th
century. In the following century, they in turn were conquered and subsumed by
Ngai Tahu (
www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz
), a tribe that has its origins in the East Coast of the
North Island.
In 1848 most of Canterbury was sold to the crown under an agreement which
stipulated that an area of 10 acres per person would be reserved for the tribe; less
than half of that actually was. With so little land left to them, Ngai Tahu were no
longer able to be self-sufficient and suffered great financial hardship. It wasn't until
1997 that this injustice was addressed, with the tribe receiving an apology from the
crown and a settlement valued at $170 million. Part of the deal was the official in-
clusion of the Maori name for the most spiritually significant part of the tribe's an-
cestral land: Aoraki/Mt Cook.
Today, Ngai Tahu is considered to be one of Maoridom's great success stories,
with a reputation for good financial management, sound cultural advice and a port-
folio including property, forestry, fisheries and many high-profile tourism opera-
tions.
There are many ways to engage in Maori culture in Canterbury. Artefacts can be
seen at Canterbury Museum (
Click here
)
, Akaroa Museum (
Click here
)
, Okains Bay
Maori & Colonial Museum (
Click here
) and South Canterbury Museum (
Click
