Day 5: Relaxing at Hot Water Beach

So, at low tide, this very unique beach on the Coromandel peninsula has geothermal features that allow you to dig holes into the sand that will fill with spring-warmed water that create natural hot tubs you can soak in. Some “tubs” are warmer than others, and there are even places that are too hot to touch. [Eddie Murphy’s James Brown bit floats through my head]

Sam guided us down to the beach, explaining the significance of the silver fern to Maori culture and pointing out possible glow worm locations. We did a bit of digging ourselves, but mainly took his advice to scavenge other people’s digging efforts. Janelle arrived a bit later after sorting the kitchen to document the event & do some of her own relaxing

Hot Beach Observations:
~ Awesome hot tub, but sand in very undesirable places
~ “Hold the wall” (the first rule of Hot Beach
~ watch out for burnt feet & butt cheeks
~ tree roots are invisible at night
~ pretty sure Sam was having us on about the glow worms hereRead more