Steaming Sandy Hot Springs

We headed off in the morning destined for the far side of Coromandel Peninsula, the Pacific side. The area is a tourist destination and we were going to find out why. To get there, we needed to get over the Coromandel Range. The road was twistier than anything we had been on so far. It was gravel but well marked. The average hairpin curve was appropriately posted for 25 kmph, and the 270 degree ones for 15 kmph. For the most part, it was a steady climb up one side of the Range for about 20 minutes and then about the same for the decent on the other. It could be described as snaking up one side and slithering down the other.

It was obvious when we were getting close to Whitianga and Cooks Beach, the tourist trap. The roads were busy, and there were excessive vacation homes and rental motorhomes everywhere. The seaside scenery and beaches were exceptional, and of course that's enough to draw vacationers and tourists alike.

We did our part and toured each spot in turn with the train of other like-minded tourists. We found two places of interest, the first was just out of sight from the popular Cooks Beach, it was a secluded beach with no signage, spectacular white cliffs and an abundance of sea shells.

The other place of even more interest was Hot Water Beach, partly because of the natural hot springs bubbling up through the sand, but also for the family fun it inspired. Almost no one was just laying on the beach in the customary sun tanning sprawl. Everyone, young and old alike, were creatively digging in the steaming sand, to make the perfect pool , a  comfortable shape with water just the right temperature. Needless to say, we were moved to do the same.

Even though we had brought our own shovel along, we found an abandon pool close to an area where no one else was digging. As it turned out, the area was too hot to even walk on. As with all sand pools, they continue to fill in, so as we took ownership of the abandon pool to make it ours, we dug and dug, two shovel fulls out, while one slid back in, and so we dug some more.

 In our pool, we had a couple of spots so hot that we couldn't touch them. But after finding a comfortable place, we too enjoyed relaxing in the hot water and sand.

 It was quite a picture, steam rising, water bubbling, sand covered kids of all ages digging, and the rest laying in pools of dirty hot water, enjoying the fruits of their labour and having fun. It's often thought that hot springs have therapeutic value, and it certainly was here for the family sole; families that play together, stay together.

 We were impressed that the hot springs were not overly commercialized, restrictive or un-naturalized as our society has a tendency to do.

Steaming sandy hot springs, a pleasurable experience for us down under.

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