Hot Water Beach alias natural jacuzzi

The next day unfortunately did not start much more pleasant, but since we were driving to the east side of the Coromandel Peninsula today, we hoped for a change in weather. It wouldn't be the first time...

First stop Whitianga and the sun was smiling at us. We had to stretch our legs and took the time to browse through some shops. After lunch, we continued to today's overnight stop, a Top Ten Holiday Park. A premiere for the three of us, as these campsites are considered to be among the best in New Zealand in terms of quality. Accordingly, some bills were handed over the counter. Of course, the goal was not exclusively this campsite, no much better... the Hot Water Beach, which was only a few minutes' walk away. Now you surely want to know what is so special about it. These are hot springs that bubble deep beneath the sand and emerge here on the surface. To access this water, you just have to dig a hole on the beach, the hot water collects in it, and you already have your own little pool. Sounds simple... but it turned out to be more exhausting than expected.

When checking in, we took the opportunity to rent a shovel, otherwise how should we dig such a hole?! Equipped with bags and packs, we set off towards the beach.

The roles were initially clear, Tim dug as much as he could, and the girls came up with new thoughts and ideas every second, well let's say instructions...

In the end, we agreed and everyone took turns with shoveling. But Pia's idea 'But let's build a really deep hot tub' we couldn't quite realize, because it was really difficult, with every spadeful, sand slid back into the hole. At first, we probably made the typical beginner's mistake and dug where it was already super warm on the surface.

In the end, the water in the pool was too hot, but thanks to our fantastic water management system, we created a kind of inlet and outlet, so everything was perfect and we could finally relax in our self-built jacuzzi. In the end, we could only enjoy our 'spa' for about an hour, because then the sea took back the section of the beach.

I think the pictures speak for themselves, a unique and very special place where you can relax :) That's why we trudged back to the beach around 5 a.m. the next morning, we won't have the chance to enjoy this fantastic experience again so soon...

After breakfast and an extensive play break for the Sozi Gang on a huge jumping pillow...

the wild journey continued towards Cathedral Cove. To get there, you have to take a varied and hilly coastal path that offers great views of this marine reserve. At the end of the route, stairs led us down to two sections of the beach, which are separated by an impressive rock arch reminiscent of stone arches in churches. Here, too, we had to constantly watch the tides.

At the end of the day, a crazy idea was extensively discussed, but see for yourself in the next post...