8 Days on the Road
How do you warm your feet up on a cold winter’s day? Put the socks away, go down to a beach fed by a hot water spring, dig yourself a hole in the sand until you reach the hot water, let the water from the sea get the temperature to a comfortable level, then dip your feet in your new-found hot pool… Duh!
That’s our mission today on June 1st, the first day of winter in New Zealand, while we stay at the Hot Water Beach Top 10 Holiday Park in the Coromandel.
Things have been pretty relaxing here in Hot Water Beach so far, giving us the opportunity to catch up on some work in the morning. Despite the weather being forecast to piss it down with rain, the sun is steadily glowing and the tide is out, giving us a quick opportunity to go and enjoy what so many backpackers like to do here in the Coromandel: relax in a free hot pool made with your own hard work.
A couple of cycle paths
By quick opportunity we mean quick opportunity. The Hot Water Beach Top 10 Holiday Park has some bikes to hire, as well as spades to help dig the hot pools down at Hot Water Beach. We fasten our bike helmets, pack our camera equipment, and cycle the quick track down to the beach.
It’s been ages since we both have put the power to the peddle, so it was a great feeling to be back on a bike again, even if it was just for a short while. We made our way down the interesting little bushwalk (by bike as there was no one around), which starts from the Hot Water Beach car park.
Bikes ditched at the end of the track, we make our way on foot to the best place to dig a hot pool on Hot Water Beach, between some rocky outcrops on the beach and a small rock island out to sea.
Best hot water pool ever!
Robin is stoked to dig himself the best hole ever, and the spades from the holiday park really help quicken the process before the tide comes back in. Robin digs while Laura mocks, while Robin counter mocks that there are two spades and only one digger right now…
In no time we have ourselves a potential hot pool! Any moment now, the water from the sea will pour into the hole to give us enough water to cool down the 60-degreeish water and be worthy of being called a pool… Turns out our hole was too far away from the sea to catch any water. If anything, we have ourselves a trench with a puddle in it… With water which was far too hot.
Nevertheless, we can warm our feet in our little puddle, and just accept that this is a fun novelty thing to do in New Zealand. You got to try it… Because it’s Mother Nature giving us backpackers a free thing to do! Yay!
Relaxing with a lazy cat
We cycle back to the Top 10 Holiday Park to catch up on some more travel writing, all while sitting by the fire in the common area. We are graced with the presence of a lazy cat which we have noticed spends most of its time lying in the kitchen doorway… probably waiting for food.
Hopefully, saving our strength tonight will keep us well energised for scuba diving tomorrow! Robin is buzzing about the idea, while Laura is a little nervous about facing a fear of hers… Check in with us tomorrow to see how that all turns out!
Our hot water hole attracts the crowds
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If you like hot water in the form of a natural pool, you might like these articles:
- 7 Free Natural Hot Springs in New Zealand
- 5 Free Natural Hot Pools in Rotorua
- 5 Insane Geothermal Parks in New Zealand You Won’t Believe Exist
See you tomorrow for what lies within the waters of the Coromandel!
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