Traveling off the beaten path is usually not easier,
sometimes lonely and often a bit frightening. But in choosing the road less traveled, there
is the hope that it will bring you to an even better and more rewarding
destination. I took this chance a few
days ago when I made the decision to stay in Hot Water Beach an additional day
to continuing traveling in the opposite direction of where the Kiwi Experience
Bus was going.
We arrived at Hot Water Beach Holiday Park in the afternoon,
a gorgeous camp site with amazing new cabins.
The place even came with 2 dogs and a cat! I managed to get a picture with the largest and
most friendly animal resident!
After settling in we all headed down to the beach! Crowds of people go to Hot Water Beach at low
tide to dig their own personal hot tub in the sand!
Between five and nine million years ago,
there was an active volcano beneath this area and today, on Hot Water Beach
there remains a reservoir of hot water and heated rocks less than a mile
beneath the surface! Over time, this water
escapes to the surface and for two hours either side of low tide you can dig to
uncover hot geothermal mineral water as hot as 147ºF! Finding a good hole made me feel a bit like Goldilocks
and the three bears; one was too hot, one was too cold and finally one that was
just right! The trick is to keep your
hot tub from getting to prime human cooking temperature! The solution is finding an area near a flow
of ocean water or to have a bucket handy in order to transport the necessary cooling
water from the ocean.
Usually, when
traveling to the beach, the goal is to try to find a location as far away from
other beach goers as possible. But this
hot water phenomenon only happens in one particular area so it’s funny to see
an almost entirely empty beach and then a dense pack of people sitting next to
one another in steaming holes.
Definitely an amazing and unique experience!
After we had our fill of hot water holes my roommates and I
headed back to our cabin to shower off and have some fish and chips for dinner! After showering and sitting down to some
delicious fried cuisine, some of us sat down to play cards. It turned into a rip roaring game of spoons
only the spoons were substituted with tiny black sticks, courtesy of 3 Dutch
gentlemen. This place also had a
playground with a trampoline so a few of us headed for some before bedtime
jumping!
The next day I waved goodbye to
everyone on the bus and I was left alone in our cabin complex. I spent the morning on the beach, had a
wonderful lunch at a cool café nearby, and then for the first time since
traveling on my own, actually felt very alone!
You would think I would have enjoyed having an entire room and bathroom
to myself but it was rather lonely! After
reading, skyping with my bestest friend Jess and going crazy alone with my thoughts,
I finally found out that I CAN see Grey’s Anatomy episodes by purchasing them
on iTunes! Sometimes a little comfort
from home is necessary, so I prepared for a wonderful evening alone in bed with
my Grey’s! I even bought a cookie and my
new favorite drink, a New Zealand classic: L&P. I sort of feel like I’m cheating on my Ginger
Beer with it, but it is so inexplicably refreshing and delicious that I simply
cannot resist.
The next day I headed to Hahei Beach to the Tatahi
Lodge. There were no shuttles running in
the morning so the owner of the Lodge actually came and picked me up! Only in New Zealand…I still have to get used
to how nice everyone is here! Tatahi
Lodge has motel accommodation as well as backpacker accommodation with a large
living room, kitchen and yard with BBQ and lounge chairs as well as a great little window seat/reading nook which I have definitely taken advantage of!
Soon after arriving I went on a fantastic walk near by with amazing views
of the ocean.
Tomorrow I will prepare for the long hour walk all the way
to Cathedral Cove which is supposed to be even more unbelievably beautiful! Back at the lodge I met some of the other
backpackers, including an American girl and a Kiwi guy who worked at the hostel
as well. He took me on another beautiful
walk along the cliffs. Later we all
watched a Halloween movie “Pandorum,” (I believe Denis Quad truly regrets
taking this role), had some hot
chocolate and went to bed.
So, taking the path less travelled did indeed lead me to an
even better and more rewarding destination.
This area is beautiful and the people are fantastic. I even got a flower on my bed this morning
from a secret admirer :)
