Craft a Homemade Thermal Pool
at Hot Water Beach Whitiango Coromandel New Zealand

Keep you eye open for steam rising from the open sea at high tide – these are the spots where you can dig out your own personal beachside thermal pool in the sand come low tide at Hot Water Beach Whitiango Coromandel New Zealand. Find this treasure on your Coromandel NZ tour, two hours away from Auckland.

Though volcanic activity’s no longer present on this Coromandel Peninsula beach bay, unique hot mineral pools give legacy to a dynamic geothermal past which took place on the Auckland New Zealand map.

So special is this beach destination that the New Zealand Automobile Association’s AA Travel division charts it on a list of “101 Must-Do’s for Kiwis.” A garden variety spade is all that’s needed to release hot spring water from beneath the sand two hours either side of low tide in warm summer Pacific Ocean waters.

The setting alone renders spectacular New Zealand vacation scenery perfect for hiking, fishing, and other water activities. Surfing’s a highlight activity at this picturesque beach that’s flanked by pohutukawa trees, cliffs, and in the foreground, Castle Rock.

But the trademark is its namesake, where heavily pockmarked sand excavations are filled by a steady stream of reposed beachgoers soaking in self-made nature’s hot tubs. The ritual repeats daily as high tide wipes the slate clean for brand new excavations to unearth the underground hot water river flowing below the beach’s white sands.

Visitors on New Zealand vacation ebb and flow to Hot Water Beach to dig homemade whirlpool baths as consistently as its tide.

There’s only one way to get to this world renowned do-it-yourself hot tub beach area, and that is on the rather challenging road marked to Hot Water Beach, Cook’s Beach, and Hahei/Cathedral Cove, found off State Hwy. 25 at the Whenuakite junction.

Getting there’s easy on the travel budget – it’s free! Make sure to time your visit to according to the tide to take advantage of underground reservoirs. That means consulting tide charts (see http://www.mercurybay.co.nz/activities/hotwaterbeach.php) to pointpoint the 4-hour window (and more specifically, one hour before and after lowest tide) to catch the superheated mineral waters (up to 64°C or 147°) that emanate from two fissures underground.

Besides the standard travel clothing and gear for the beach, remember to bring a spade to dig your spa and a bucket to relay cool ocean water to adjust the near-scalding temperatures. No doubt, you will dig this NZ Hot Water Beach!