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After another very brief stop over in Auckland it was time to head back on the Kiwi Bus and down to the first stop on our 'pass', Hot Water beach.
So, after leaving grey Auckland we were about 15 minutes down the road when we arrived at our first sight seeing stop, Mount Eden. Mount Eden is a dormant volcano which looks over the whole of Auckland and the surrounding area. All that is left there now is a grassy crater and 360 degree views. Although the rain had stopped it was still quite grey, however this did not obstruct the great views we got from the top.
Our next stop en route was Cathederal Cove, about a 15 minute drive down from hot water beach itself and by the time we had arrived the weather had improved. We got off the bus and went straight to a viewing platform which again gave unobstructed views out to sea and all along the coast line. We then followed one of the walking tracks down towards Cathederal Cove itself which was a nice little beached area where you could swim or just chill out on the beach. We opted to chill out as we didn't have much time on the beach it's self so after about 40 odd minutes we made our way back up (up hill) to the bus.
We arrived in Hot Beach in the early evening, our accommodation for the night was a camp site which had built backpacker accommodation especially to cater for the Kiwi Experience bus. There had only been a few buses stop there before us and the accommodation was spotless and still had the smell of fresh paint and carpet. They also had a very nice decked area out the front where you could sit and relax.
We bought a couple of beers and soaked up the last bit of evening sun, whch was very nice before heading over to cook some dinner. After a mix up with a sauce pan (accidently stealing a families pan staying in a campervan) we chucked some pasta together and headed back for a game of rounders with others from our bus. With a shovel and a mini sponge rugby ball we played until there was no more light and went back to sitting on the decking out side our room / chalet.
Now the main attraction of Hot Water Beach is that every day, at low tide, you can dig yourself a hole in the sand, to uncover hot water (very hot in some parts) and relax in your own little hot pool. The time of the low tide when we were there was 10:00pm, but this wasn't going to put us off. With mini shovels in hand (or rounders bats) we made the walk down to the beach and started digging. We found a nice hot spot (not like the hot spots from 'Strike it Lucky' but hot water) and a team of about 6 people began to dig. Certain areas of the pool were far too hot to stand in, meaning a quick step to down to the cooling sea was needed on occassions. Although we did construct ourselves a nice little hot pool, neither of us sat in the water, one because there was danger of third degree burns and two because at 10:00pm a sea breeze is very chilly. We at least stood in it though and cold to the bone we made our way back to the campsite to have a nice hot shower before getting into bed.
We only stayed one night in Hot Water beach as the bus leaves the following day, but the accommodation was really nice and although we didn't sit in the hot pools we experienced them which was fun in itself.
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