The cars I followed into Hanmer Springs seemed to travel faster than the ones I followed back to Christchurch. Spa treatments, lying around in thermal pools and alpine walks slow you down.

I travelled there from Auckland for the equivalent of a long weekend and found it an attractive alternative break to Sydney or Melbourne credit card-punishing "retail therapy" sojourns. And it's less stressful to get to and from - hop on a plane from Auckland and you are driving into Hanmer Springs a relaxed three hours later.

So it's a mystery to me why just five percent (25,000) of Hanmer Thermal Pools and Spa's annual 500,000 visitors are North Islanders, while 15 percent (75,000) are Australian. That's one North Islander to every three Aussies! For my money, chatting about a Hanmer Spa treatment has more cachet in Parnell than talking about Sydney fashion stores (and, anyway, what's wrong with Newmarket if shopping is your focus?).

Hanmer Springs began its journey toward resort town status in 1879 when the first post-colonial thermally heated swimming pools were dug. Over the subsequent 130 years, convalescing soldiers, recovering alcoholics and holiday makers have chilled out there.

In the process the original holes in the ground of therapeutic thermally-warmed water have been transformed and the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa has developed into the most sophisticated attraction of its type in the Southern Hemisphere, award-winning in New Zealand and well-regarded internationally.

The Hurunui District Council owns and operates the pool and spa and has invested heavily in it, including more than $11 million in the past four years. This has included developing the Spa where you go for a non-surgical body and mind makeover. There are enough Spa options to keep you and your fellow travellers being pampered for days on end.

My Spa experience came attached to a Southern Spa Escape package (from $310pp) which has been designed to appeal to North Islanders seeking a pampered break. It includes two nights of four star-plus accommodation, with one of the options being the venerable Heritage Hanmer Springs where we stayed. It's a charming, historically significant hotel in the centre of town offering studios and suites, and free-standing villas for groups and families.

After inspecting most of the town's restaurants and cafes and their menus, we elected to pay to dine at the Heritage Hanmer's restaurant on our first night. The tastes, presentation and service were outstanding. When picking a place to eat I have come to believe it is better to pay a relatively small premium for a memorable experience than save a few dollars then wish you had bought takeaways.

There are also non-cuisine related advantages in going a bit up-market: your fellow diners are likely to be more entertaining. At Isobel's (named after Mount Isobel four kilometres away) that night we were entertained by how a group of prospective bride, groom and in-laws made decisions about the upcoming nuptials to be hosted at Heritage Hanmer. Interestingly the bride-to-be was an executive of a competing accommodation chain.

Thermal Pools and Spa investment has helped drive other visitor choices. Hanmer Springs' Yin is serene, relaxing and pampering. Its Yang is energetic, challenging and boisterous (think long walks up big hills, mountain biking, bungy jumping and jet boating).

The verdict? Hanmer is a great retreat offering classy man-made options. What makes it so appealing is that they are built on and around gob-smacking geological forces that are still a work in progress. That makes it very special. That's New Zealand for you.

Some advice based on experience:

- Go for as long as you can possibly afford (and ask about extending any short term package options on offer) - there are plenty of stimulating and relaxing things to do as well as visits to the pools and spa (including golf and free stuff like walking for hours).

- Don't think of Hanmer as just a winter escape. Some of the stunning day trips from Hanmer are likely to be more accessible in summer than winter.

- Don't go there without going online and reading about the geological history of the region and finding where the thermally-heated hot water comes from. It'll help you and your travelling companions appreciate what has created the beautiful local landscape and grandeur of the Southern Alps. Fascinating.

- Go there outside holidays and weekends - it's more relaxing.

- Expect to pay city restaurant prices at local eateries (you'll probably get better value by spending a little more and going to the posher restaurants).

- If you are self-catering do a shop at a Christchurch supermarket. Prices - especially for alcohol - are more expensive at the one Four Square mini supermarket in the town.

- Take some warm gear even in the middle of summer. Hot days have a habit of turning into very cool nights (and the wind can be irritating). Good walking shoes are a must.

- While chilling out in one the warm Hanmer Springs thermal pools reflect on the fact you are in water that originally fell as rain around 180 years ago and dripped down through cracks in the earth to be heated by the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates rubbing together.

Footnote: Canterbury's Wallaby coach Robbie Deans took the Wallaby entourage to stay at the Heritage Hanmer for nearly a week after they bombed out of the RWC. Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa marketing manager, Scott Callaway, says they forgot about their bad day at the office in a Nano second.