Edwin van de Koolwijk
is originally from Tiel in The Netherlands where he was born somewhere in the mid '70's, (never really) grew up and studied. After obtaining a masters degree in Econometrics he travelled around the world and visited close to 70 countries and also Antarctica.
After discovering New Zealand in 2001 he decided to make that country his new home. In 2008 he successfully migrated and settled in Christchurch. Here he made a serious attempt to establish a brand new hostel which was going to be named Fitzgerald Backpackers. This project failed due to the enormous red tape and unhelpful property developers.
Instead of giving up on the idea he pulled the plug on the project and went shopping for a hostel instead. This is how in January 2009 he stumbled upon Hanmer Backpackers which was for sale and on 9 April 2009 he took over the reigns from Barbara Stevens.
Whenever he has spare time, which is not often enough he can be seen baking apple pies, cakes or other lovely treats for his guests.
is originally from Tiel in The Netherlands where he was born somewhere in the mid '70's, (never really) grew up and studied. After obtaining a masters degree in Econometrics he travelled around the world and visited close to 70 countries and also Antarctica.
After discovering New Zealand in 2001 he decided to make that country his new home. In 2008 he successfully migrated and settled in Christchurch. Here he made a serious attempt to establish a brand new hostel which was going to be named Fitzgerald Backpackers. This project failed due to the enormous red tape and unhelpful property developers.
Instead of giving up on the idea he pulled the plug on the project and went shopping for a hostel instead. This is how in January 2009 he stumbled upon Hanmer Backpackers which was for sale and on 9 April 2009 he took over the reigns from Barbara Stevens.
Whenever he has spare time, which is not often enough he can be seen baking apple pies, cakes or other lovely treats for his guests.
Pepper the Cat
Unfortunately Pepper is no longer with us today. She was last seen on the last day of June 2011. Considering her old age and the fact she would never leave the property we have to accept the fact that Pepper felt her end nearing and decided to leave the property to quietly die. Cats always do that and hardly ever die on the properties they lived. She was originally from New Zealand and was born somewhere in the late '90's. She never studied or got any degree but she was naturally very intelligent, to a degree of a course. Like a typical female she could not read maps and needed a lot of attention
Her days were usually spent sleeping on a chair in the upstairs lounge and dreaming about mice and birds. She would get up and say hi to any new guests and if you happened to sleep in the upstairs dormitory and left the door open, she might have woken you up at 6 AM or so.
Her favourite colour was black as this was the colour you would see her white hairs best on when she left them behind.
She never really travelled much but why would she? She lived in a fantastic town called Hanmer Springs and why go further than the garden if you don't have to?
Pepper was probably the most vocal cat you would ever meet. She was also the real owner of Hanmer Backpackers where she resided since early 2007. Pepper will be missed deeply by the staff and all former guests who have met her. Rest in peace Pepper.
Unfortunately Pepper is no longer with us today. She was last seen on the last day of June 2011. Considering her old age and the fact she would never leave the property we have to accept the fact that Pepper felt her end nearing and decided to leave the property to quietly die. Cats always do that and hardly ever die on the properties they lived. She was originally from New Zealand and was born somewhere in the late '90's. She never studied or got any degree but she was naturally very intelligent, to a degree of a course. Like a typical female she could not read maps and needed a lot of attention
Her days were usually spent sleeping on a chair in the upstairs lounge and dreaming about mice and birds. She would get up and say hi to any new guests and if you happened to sleep in the upstairs dormitory and left the door open, she might have woken you up at 6 AM or so.
Her favourite colour was black as this was the colour you would see her white hairs best on when she left them behind.
She never really travelled much but why would she? She lived in a fantastic town called Hanmer Springs and why go further than the garden if you don't have to?
Pepper was probably the most vocal cat you would ever meet. She was also the real owner of Hanmer Backpackers where she resided since early 2007. Pepper will be missed deeply by the staff and all former guests who have met her. Rest in peace Pepper.