Hot Water Beach - we will dig

We say goodbye to the Shire, and the weather follows suit. Gray, cloudy, and windy. We head towards the Coromandel Peninsula, a spot we missed during our last visit to New Zealand.

The route is scenic, with ups and downs, tight curves, great views, and serpentine roads...and rain. Slowly but surely, it starts to become exhausting. Is that fog, or are those clouds? Now it's pouring! The doll spots a bakery, and we spontaneously decide to take a break. Unfortunately, the bakery isn’t inviting for sitting. So just a coffee to go and back out into the rain. Fortunately, the distance today isn’t too far.

Our destination is Hot Water Beach, where at certain times you can dig your own small hot pools in the sand. But today, it seems the hot water is lost in the water...

Still in the rain, we roll to our campsite and quickly transform the bedroom into our living room. The campground offers a 38-degree warm 'Spa Pool,' which is 'Adults only' after 5 PM. Laundry also needs to be done...so we decide to send our laundry off at 5 PM and then relax in the pool. So we did...at least partially. The laundry is washing, but there aren’t even any standing spots in the pool! That’s no good for Püppi and Schnuck. But what do we spot? There is a bar tent. A welcome alternative! So we have cocktails! And for the evening, take-away pizza and a home cinema. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be better!

The next morning, the sun is shining. Well then!

We enjoy the weather and the pool, and two hours before low tide, we take a spade to the beach to dig for hot water. I must admit, I imagined this would be easier! We dig here, then we dig there. No sign of hot water. But there are plenty of fellow diggers around. You could almost think we’ve turned into gold diggers...

After a while, the doll speculates that it might just be a tourist gag. But lo and behold! Enthusiastic fellow diggers have found the first hot spots. And depending on where you are, it’s really hot! So it’s not just a gag... It’s quite an exciting experience to stumble upon hot water just by digging on the beach! The visit was worth it.

To reward ourselves for the effort, we have a glass of wine at the bar tent, accompanied by live music. In no time, we grab fish 'n' chips for dinner, and as a nightcap, there's another cocktail.