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My six favourite hot pools. So far.
North Island hot pool safari
Miriam Richardson
Wintering in the North Island, I decided to explore hot pools, building my own short-list of pools for an annual safari each winter.
The variety of hot pools is a NZ treasure. There’s a free website that documents them all, free, commercial, private: nzhotpools.co.nz. I need company to explore the free ones, so most of these are campground pools. Here’s my six favourites, so far.
Hot tip for hot pools: Scour the op shops for spare togs and towels. When you are having a dip multiple times a day in winter, it’s a blessing to have dry togs to put on. And yet another dry towel.
Tip 2: always carry a water bottle with you. (Probably not glass.)
Tip 3: a pool noodle lets you relax and float in the middle of the pool.
Athenree
On the edge of the farther reaches of Tauranga harbour is Anthenree, a campground with two hot pools, one for soaking, one for swimming.
The soak pool is 38.5–40˚C, the larger pool is cooler so you can swim lengths. There is fantastic mosaic artwork on the walls — you have to soak longer just to admire them all. The pools are closed overnight for cleaning, so no dawn- or star-watch soaking, but the public can’t join you until 10am.
Its a an excellent and very pleasant campground with mature trees, an estuary view to the west, and has a small shop. There are powered and unpowered sites, tent sites, cabins and all the other facilities you expect in a campground. There are limited dog-friendly sites. They offer some off-season discounts. ■
Awakeri
Nestled in farmland a short drive from Whakatane, Awakeri has a lovely park with mature trees. The pools are partly covered (think both sun and rain), and there is a separate children’s pool (think peace). The changing rooms have heated-water floors, which feels so good, it’s worth changing there instead of walking across in your togs from the campervan. There are also cabins, motels, and tent sites, and a small shop. Its bit boggy in winter (choose your site with care).
The main pool, 37–39ºC, has bore water with all its goodness, plus, sadly, chlorine (not that I noticed it) — you have to book a private pool (extra fee) to go chlorine-free.
The main pool is big enough for swimming. The temperature varies depending on how far you are from the inlet. I loved soaking in the dark and watching the stars come out, and listening to the dawn chorus from the warmth of the pool. ■
Togs and pool noodle hung out to dry
Waikite
Well off the main road, surrounded by farmland is the Waikite hot springs. You can walk up the valley to see, through the steam clouds, the boiling water bubbling up. Above the pools is a long shallow cooling-down race (right), bringing the water to people-safe temperatures, 36–41˚C.
There are a range of pools with different temperatures, different views, and different covers. You can be under the sun, in the shade or protected from the rain. I love the range of pool choices here.
There is a cafe. There are powered and unpowered overnight parks and tent sites. The prices have skyrocketed recently, so do you research as you make your plans.
The water feels fantastic. Being able to choose your pool and your view is lovely. The depths within some pools vary, so you can pick a perfect spot: having some skin in the cool air can extend your soak time. There is a large, swimmable pool, as well as soaking pools.
The walk to the spring, is along an easy track (above) and magical, through shifting drifts of steam which feed lush moss and ferns. I had to wait for gaps in the steam to see (and photograph, left) the boiling water as it rises from underground into the stream. ■
Okoroire
My favourite pool (above) is the one where you stand, surrounded by ferns, and feel the bubbles come up through the sandy floor and break on the surface around your chin. I haven’t come across another pool like it.
The Okoroire Hot Springs Hotel and pools are on the banks of the Waihou river, not far from Matamata, in the Waikato. A pathway (below) wends its way from the hotel, past the camp to the springs , which have been dug into the river bank, and are surrounded by ferns and trees. Buy a key card at the hotel to get through the locked gate. There is a changing room.
The pools, vary in heat and depth, and includes paddling pools (bottom, to the left of the pool), which has a foot-massage stone floor. Like other natural springs, the water temperature can vary. The pools are generally from 37–38˚C.
The Okoroire Hot Springs Hotel controls the small campground down the road from the hotel (red arrows: grounds, entrance, hotel). This is not obvious from their website. Talk to them when making your plans. When I stayed, access to the pools was included with the overnight fee, but I believe now you must buy a day pass. The campground is a second string for the hotel, and rather basic. The ground was a bit soft when I was there in winter, and the big trees are lovely but not helpful for solar. ■
Waingaro
It was the people and the water that put this hotspring on my favourite list.
A rolling rural drive 24 km to the east of Ngāruawāhia in the Waikato, brings you to Waingaro Springs, with hot pools, camp sites, a motel, and, next door, an old hotel that provides takeaways as well as meals and drinks. The facilities are old-school and tired, but the water is marvellous, and there is a pool where you can choose your heat by simply choosing where in the pool you sit. Perfect. Too hot? Move right. Need a hot hot top up? Move to the left. The long pool is cool enough to swim lengths. Temperatures vary from 37–41˚C. There’s a children’s pool, (and up the hill a looooong water slide. They say. I wasn’t tempted). I measure the water quality by its effect on my skin: this one is fantastic.
I was there on a Friday night when local and not so local families gathered in the pools. My guess is that this is a regular gathering. Families brought food, and the covered area was perfect for cooking on the BBQ and gathering to eat. Some got takeaways from the hotel next door. There were babies, teens and grandparents and everyone in between. As the cars arrived, they would pause on the driveway, looking down on the pool, calling greetings, before heading for the carpark. People gathered and regathered in groups to catch up on the news, a shifting kaleidoscope of talk, that kept me, as a solo hot-soaker well entertained, and actually thrilled that such community hot-spots still exist and flourish. I will plan a future visit for Friday and Saturday night, in hope of more entertaining soaking.
With a long vehicle, I had to go to the very top of the hill to find a park big enough, and the water pressure up there meant a slow fill. The parks look down on the pools (below). The only down side from my point of view was no internet or mobile coverage— that was a few years ago. Now, the maps indicate that 4g mobiles, and rural broadband via a 4g aerial have coverage. ■
Waitangi Soda Springs
This was the only totally natural spring I visited on my safari. Two thermal springs rise and join with a cool stream. You enter the stream to soak. Some of the stream bank edges have been walled, steps and ramps are provided, and the grassy banks are mowed. There is a toilet and a changing room. The water is not very deep, and the temperature varies, so you can pick your spot and your view to suit. It feels wonderful, the real thing.
The springs have been used for hundred of years for healing, recreation and teaching. Night time gatherings provided the opportunity to teach the new generation about the stars and the seasons in the comfort of a long warm soak. The springs are still managed by the local iwi, and there is a small entry fee. There is no overnight camping at the springs, but there is a freedom camping area at the eastern end of Lake Rotomā, not far away. ■
Wairakei Terraces
This is a very upmarket hot pool venue. Just north of Taupo, it is beautifully landscaped to create a different view from every spot, and with a full range of temperatures, it’s not hard to spend a day meandering from pool to pool. It’s open until after dark (though closes earlier in winter) with a variety of lighting effects. Great water, great soak.
I bought a ticket off grabone.co.nz, at not quite half the price of buying at the door, and for a soaking session it’s a good deal either way. As you cannot camp at this venue its a single session for the fee. There are changing rooms, a cafe onsite, and you can take a picnic lunch and a book with you, if you want to make a day of it (it’s a pity there aren‘t lockers). There is good parking, including for long vehicles, over the road. For a small extra fee you can take a walk around the geothermal terraces.
There are couple of freedom camping spots not too far away, one at the Aratiatia Dam (see p33) to the north and the other at Reid’s Farm/Hipapatua to the south. ◼️
9 Spring 2024
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