With Auckland far behind us we were well on our way to the Coromandel Peninsula with the aim of going to Coromandel town. On the way we had been reading the ‘Bible’ otherwise known as the lonely planet book, which tells you just about everything you need to know from what to see, where to eat, and where to say along with other random info. Our conclusion was that we had no interest in going to Coromandel and decided that we would divert to the next planned stop of ‘Hot water beach’, now to do this we needed the shortest route as it seemed all petrol stations were closed in this remote area and we were low on fuel, and hot water beach was a fair bit further than we had planned to go. We found a road on the map that seemed to go straight through or over the mountain between us and the road we needed, with the added bonus of appearing quite a short road. Well it was anything but short or direct, it was the windiest mountain track ever and another of those gravel roads, which are not for the best. After driving up and over the mountain inclusive of petrol light flashing and our nerves shattered incase it ran out, we eventually found a main highway again. We managed to make it to Hot water beach but still had not seen a petrol station, now at this point it was getting dark so we pulled up in a dirt carpark next to the beach and decided that was it for the night. Several other campas had done the same so that was a bonus. We had plans for the next day to make it a special one so had decided on doing what the beach was famous for and that was digging for hot water!! We managed not to get to the correct spot on the beach before the tide was in and stopped us in our tracks… which meant a change of plan as we could not possibly leave without having a go at this hot water thing. Instead we got set up at a campsite at Hahei just down the road a this was the nearest to the beach with a petrol station just next to it, from we here we were able to walk to a place called Cathedral cove. The walk was across the beach then over the cliffs and was pretty tough, however when we reached the beach with its limestone arch and cliffs we are sure you will agree when you see the pics it was well worth the trek. We stayed at the beach for a while and had a wonder round and a bit of a chill watching the world go by, before we headed back to the campsite to ready ourselves for low tide. The campsite supplied guests with shovels for a refundable deposit, so with shovel at the ready it was back to ‘Hot water beach’. The place was swamped with people when we arrived but still space for us to get in, we found a spot right where the water was running down from just under the main rocks. As we approached our spot the steam coming from the beach an its little pools people had dug was a very bizarre vision, on reaching the misty area and testing the water with our feet it was red hot to the point you could not stand in it for more than a few seconds. We had to dig a spade or two of sand and put in front of us so the water ran around it and missed our feet, we then got to work on digging our hole. Digging the hole was not easy as it had to be wide enough and deep enough for us both to get in, but at the same time the water was trying to cave the sides in so it was like building a sandcastle wall as a kid. Eventually our hole was dug leaving us only to make a small channel for the water to run in filling the now ‘spa’, we then stopped the flow and let it cool slightly then in we got…..BLISS!!! All you then do is enjoy and let a bit water in when you get low or you want to turn up the temperature a bit, or you can keep on building your wall! We spent a few hours in our little spa, and the whole experience was fantastic just like been at the beach building sandcastles as a kid. It was about sunset when we left and the tide was on the turn so would soon cover the steaming pools that had been the enjoyment of a few hundred people that day. Have a look at the science type picture which explains how it all works, its pretty simple but pretty fantastic. A must if you are ever in the area.