Our favourite thing to do when we travel is hiking. Whenever we find ourselves in nature, we have a craving to go and explore, see as much of it as possible! The past few months we haven’t really done much exercise, so you can imagine the muscles pains after our first big hike. And whats the best thing for sore muscles?
A nice warm bath, of course!!
Lucky for us, we were in the vicinity of the Ngawha natural healing hot springs. Speaking of timing! And, of course, the fact that New Zealand has many hot springs…
The entrance of the hot springs
Folktales and history.
These Northland hot springs were discovered by ancestors of the local Maori around 1600. They found that the springs had curative healing, especially for woman who’d just given birth. There is even an account of two warring tribes, who after a battle, came to the hot springs to recover. While recovering they also peacefully set aside their differences. The whole story proves that the hot springs not only mend physical hurt.
Welcome!
Visiting!
Finding these hot springs is very easy. They are located on the West side of the Northland. The entrance price is very cheap as well. Only four dollar for adults and two dollar for children. If that’s not a deal, then we don’t know what is. To be honest from the outside it is not much of a stunner. The gates are made out of whatever was laying around, part metal fences, part nice wooden fences, part make believe fences out of plastic trays, you name it, you’ll find it. But don’t judge the book by its cover because it has a lot to offer. After speaking to some locals, the springs are apparently getting nicer and nicer every day. Twenty years ago there were literally just mud pools and nothing else. Speaking about those locals, most of them still strongly believe in the healing powers of these pools. You will find a list at the entrance with what each pool is good for.
The first view you have when you walk in!
The area consists out of fifteen different pools. Twelve of them range between 33°C and 48°C and three of them are cold water pools (around 20°C). Do check the temperatures before jumping in, so you don’t accidentally start off with the hottest one! All pools are naturally heated and exist out of groundwater that’s being pumped through the layers of clay. In general you can assume the darker the water, the warmer the pool! It’s pretty crazy how there is “The Universal” which is between 42°-44°C (depending on the day) while only two meters further there’s one of the cooler pools that is only 20°C. Nature, you are weird!
Still a bit of a work in progress.
Time to relax!
We started our whole experience with the 35°C one called “Waikato”. A perfect way to ease into the heat! Not only are the pools a place to relax and recover, they are also a place to talk and meet people! When you are together in a two-by-two meter hot pool, it would be rude not to strike a conversation of course. After a while we decided to move up to “Cinderella” and experience the 39°C heat! To be honest it feels like a hot bath you just drew but doesn’t get any colder.
Some of the pools have great mud on the bottom as you can see in the photos above. After popping in and out the hot and cold baths we finally felt up for the challenge. We tackled the “Te Kotahitanga” of 40°C. Yes, it burns a bit in the beginning but you get used to it. After a while it gives you a nice tingly feeling. Joachim also tried to go into “the Bulldog” (42°C) for six seconds, and “the Doctor” (44°C) for exactly two seconds, but that was as much as he could take.
The famous “Bulldog”
Apparently local footie teams come here after training and games to batch in “the Bulldog”. Not only can they endure the heat but they also close their ears and nose, go underwater and then open their eyes! This pool is supposed to be very good for the eyes. Just remember the warning of the springs themselves, never go under water with your head!
All in all, these hot springs are DEFINITELY worth a visit if you’re in the neighbourhood. Go check them out and tell us what you think!
Which other hot springs can we not miss in New Zealand?
