Our New Zealand Adventure: Day 5, blustery rain, hotwater beach, bowentown, reunion

Jan 5
We woke to strong winds but no rain. Hurrah, we thought, bad weather has moved through!
Our hostess had recommended the Whitianga museum so cheered with the thought of better weather on the way we decided to visit it after checking out and then to head for hot water beach on the way to our next stop just beyond Waihi at Bowentown.

Views from our accomodation

The museum is close to the waterfront and when we parked the car we could feel the car rocking as it was buffetted by the winds. We watched the small passenger ferry struggle to cross the channel. Even though it was windy it was still warm. People were dressed in shorts and t shirts and we were optomistic as we headed inside.

Just over two hours later when we stepped outside again the wind had increased and the rain had reappeared with a vengence. We were blown to our car and struggled to open the doors. The passenger ferry appeared to have stopped running. We ate our sandwiches in the car watching people being blown along by the wind and the spray on the sea. Still we reasoned, it could be different 30 minutes down the coast, we should at least check it out.
We were not alone at Hot Water Beach. There were other insane people there too. First ( after paying $4 for an hours car parking) we had to cross a fast flowing river to reach the beach. It was time for wet shoes, flip flops just wouldnt cut it. At points the flow was mid thigh and the sand underfoot shifted. It was impossible to see the bottom so we lurched from one step to the next. Once on the beach the driving horizontal wind carried biting sand with it to scour any exposed skin. We had to put on sunglasses to protect our eyes from the sand as we scurried across the beach to where the rocks were. This is where we should be able to dig a hole and sit in warm water. As we were fully dressed and had been unable to buy a spade (sold out!) the chances of this happening were, I admit, slim. Still there were a few foolhardy souls digging away. A couple were even in swim shorts!!!! We poked our feet in an empty hole. Nope, just cold. A girl called us over to another one. Yes, this was lovely and warm. For about 20 seconds before the tide roared in and doused the heat and the wind and sand upped their fury even more. We stepped in another couple of holes, some warm, some cold and then decided that was enough. We still had the beach to cross again, the river to ford and we were pretty wet. We'd experienced the sensation of warm water oozing up from below and that would have to be enough.

view 360 photo

The car had heated electric seats so we slowly dried out on the way to Bowentown. This is a campsite, with a few chalets for those who don't want to camp, and we were meeting my sister Teresa, Matt her husband and their three boys here for some family time. They showed us the beach, we had a meal Teresa had fabulously prepared earlier and then played Mah Jong. Definitely a family tradition.