B is for Bach: our spot on the Coromandel

The local museum in Whitianga had an interesting exhibit on what a bach would have looked like in the early 1900's, rustic, haphazard but easy living.

We have rented a bach for our time here on the Coromandel and it looks nothing like its earlier version, we have been part of the growing upmarket baches in New Zealand. We have Kindles, computers, cellphones, TV, microwave and dishwasher, all the comforts of home, I even grumbled about not having a grater.

We have tried to emulate the spirit of a bach, 'relaxed, down-to-earth', sometimes really well with the boys playing backgammon while Shawni cooks a delicious stir-fry and I read and at other times we get caught up in our busyness and the drive to experience this place we find ourselves in.

But the flat whites in cafe's with a sweet treat and our love of being on a path have made this a special place to visit.

H is for Hectic: finding hot water at Hot Water Beach, Coromandel

Hot Water Beach selfie

Hectic indeed.

We headed back to Hot Water Beach at low tide this morning to try find the promised hot water.  We gave up the first time, the rain and wind came down and it was just too unpleasant to stay. I nearly lost heart when we got to the car park and saw all the vehicles and people in a steady stream making their way to the beach. But we persevered, layered up, Fred with his GoPro, and we joined the hundreds and hundreds of people, a little bit sceptical but spade in hand.

The hot water comes up from a reservoir in hot rocks about 2km below the surface and filters up through cracks in the crust. There are zones along the beach that as you dig in the sand, the water gets warm and then it gets almost to hot to stand in. And everyone digs, they make shallow depressions to lie in, and barriers to keep the sea away, or at least they try too. Some brave and daft tourists were stripped down to costumes and lying in the pools of warm water with everyone else standing around or twisting in the sand to feel the hotspots.

We loved it, even though we were like sardines in a can, maybe it should be B for bizarre!

Digging, finding hot spots along with a thousand other people.