Thompson and Robyn McEwen became talking buddies during their regular visits to He Puna Taimoana hot pools, which will celebrate its first year of operation on Sunday.
Thompson, 61, said when he first saw McEwen, 56, at the pools, she was bathing nearby.
But he was not going to make eye contact or idle chat, as she was with a group of friends.
He was happy to see her again on a following visit, and this time she was on her own.
On this and following visits the pair chatted, and Thompson decided to take things further after some wise words from his 12-year-old grandson Kerian.
“He said: ‘You always talk about her, how you see her there, why don’t you ask her out?’” Thompson said.
On his next visit, he asked McEwen if she liked walking, and soon the pair went for a walk together.
In November, they had their first official date when they met for coffee.
McEwen, a Kaiapoi High School teacher and mother of four aged 17 to 23, who lives at Parklands, said the pair both liked visiting the hot pools and enjoyed walking and cycling.
They had a lot in common, and since getting together had become best friends and soul mates.
“I wasn’t looking, but when you are not looking things just happen naturally I suppose,” McEwen said.
He Puna Taimoana is on track for 120,000 guests by its first-year anniversary.
A Christchurch City Council spokesperson said Thompson and McEwen were among many of the guests who had formed friendships with others as they made bathing at the pools part of their wellness routine.
“We really enjoy the strong community connections. Connecting is so important for wellness in a Covid world,” the spokesperson said.
The pools would soon be releasing a premium experience, the Sunrise Soak, for visitors to watch the colours of sunrise at the beach.
