Kerosene Creek

Our campsite that evening was along Kerosene Creek. It smells a little like sulphur. Why would we camp there, if it smells?

All along the creek, geothermal water seeps up through the creek bed. It's similar to Hot Water Beach. But instead of flowing straight to sea, the hot water mixes with, and warms up, the stream! The creek was an ideal 30-35°C, not hot, but very comfortable.

We got our bathing suits on, hung our towel in a tree and hopped in. We sat right above a small waterfall as the warm water rushed past. After our day of hiking, this was a great way to relax.

We explored a little further downstream the creek. Here a 3m warm waterfall plunged into a deep pool. The ultimate (natural) jacuzzi!

We stayed there for the night. So, the next morning, we went for round 2. Because of the chilly night air, mist was coming off the water. And with the morning sunlight shining through the trees, the sunbeams were quite spectacular. You could spend hours soaking it all up.

As we were leaving, we met two awesome German girls, Sonni and Anna. They had camped the night in a convertible. They were traveling and WWOOF'ing (working for room and board). We would cross paths a few more times along the trip.Read more