I had a brief few days away in the South Island with fam, and thought about how many cool places there would be to live and write. Which is kind of daft, because it doesn't matter where you write, really, home is pretty good if you've got a quiet space. Or do you even need a quiet space if you put on headphones and listen to some non-distracting music? I'm pretty sure I don't. Anyhoo, one place I did visit on the sojourn South was Hamner Springs, which is a town in North Canterbury in the South Island.  It's around a two hour drive north of Christchurch, and is a touristy-town set in hills, with views to snow-covered mountains, and it has... Hot pools!! It is famous for the hot pools. In fact, at one point the natural hot pools were used for therapeutic reasons, and while there may be some therapeutic claims, I can't say as I felt any different leaving the pools except still a bit damp, very happy I'd finally been, and thinking I would definitely go back ag