Hot Water Beach: check!

Low tide was slated for 8PM; we arrived at sunset at 7. Eric is a pussy, averse to being cold, being wet, being sandy, and potentially growing too hot–the worst offense of them all. And so, I experienced this thermal phenomenon solo. After a fish and chips feast, laying on our bellies in the back of the van, I set out. My first mission was intended to be surveillance only, however after I arrived at my destination, I put the kibosh on all future missions. Instead of laboring to dig a kiddie sized pool into the steaming sand, I opted to remain aloof from the shovel wielding masses. I listened to their shrieks, their laughs, and their yells as too much cold water sloshed over the side and too much hot water bubbled up from beneath.

Instead, I was content to burrow up to my ankles in the sand, feeling the hot spring below ebb and flow. I watched the stars, hoping to catch a fleeting glimpse of one falling. I watched the waves, marveling how the moon could turn each crest to quicksilver as they curled and crashed. I stood there, stepping patterns into wet sand, thinking all the standard thoughts that float past when you’re trying to brew up a moment: How wonderful the world is. How fortunate I am to have found Eric. How absolutely incredible this entire trip has been, both life changing and life affirming.

Although eventually I did grow too cold, too wet, too sandy, and too hot, and decide to strike back to the van, without the grand “moment” I figured I ought to be having out there. Still in hot pursuit of that elusive spiritual experience, I attempted to hasten things along by singing Celine Dion songs from the 90’s while trying to forget I had to pee. A bit of a fail on both parts, but hey! I experienced the magical, mystical wonders of a thermal pool at the beach, however terrestrial it turned out to be.

-K

^ Our first hot spring experience in Rotorua. Bucket list, whaaaat! 

^ This one was especially rad, for it was free, still natural, and something of a local secret. 

^ Chasing the light around the springs. THIS one did allow me soaring moments of joy and gratitude. Another reason this gem is so special: it’s hot AND cold. I could have one foot in the oven, another in the freezer. We had it all to ourselves for the majority of the time, and I delighted endlessly in attempting to homogenize the temperature around me by wildly flailing my arms.