New fun activity at Hanmer Springs

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter

Hanmer Springs has a new fun, family activity - and it’s free.

A nine-hole disc golf course opened at Brooke Dawson Reserve last month and it has already caught the attention of visitors and enthusiasts for the game.

‘‘It has only been open for a couple of weeks, but there is a lot of people going through and the word is getting out,’’ local resident Graham Frith said.

‘‘I’ve had people from Christchurch, Nelson and the West Coast ringing to find out when we will have this course and now I can tell them to come.

‘‘My vision was to have it so everyone staying in the village could do it for free and eventually if we have some guns come here, even better.’’

Frith came up with the idea for a disc golf course while serving on the Hanmer Springs Community Board.

It came at a cost of $7500 to buy the baskets, which were used instead of tees and were installed by volunteers.

Disc golf is like ordinary golf, except you throw a frisbee or disc and aimed to get into the baskets in as few throws as possible.

All you need is a frisbee and some mates, or your family, Frith said.

‘‘The other day three of us went down there with one frisbee. We just took turns throwing it and walked around and had a great chat.’’

Frith has been behind several initiatives in recent years, including the Hanmer Springs food forest and Music and Arts Hanmer Springs.

He was also working on developing mountain bike trails around Mt Isobel.

‘‘I just like to stir things up. If you are not going forward you fall off your bike.’’

Frith says the ideas tend to flow when he is out on his bike.

With a five month cycling tour in Central America planned from next month, more ideas were sure to follow.

‘‘We are travelling through Mexico and I will no doubt see something and think ‘that will work in Hanmer Springs’.’’

The Brooke Dawson Reserve, in Bath Street, Hanmer Springs, has a toilet block and picnic area, making it the ideal spot for families.

There was the option of extending it to an 18-hole course if it proved to be popular.

A map of the course is available on the Hanmer Springs app and on Facebook.

*Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air