Make a sand bath at Hot Water Beach in New Zealand

At Hot Water Beach on New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula, geothermal water rises through the sand near the shore, allowing visitors to shape temporary warm pools when tide and conditions permit. The experience is elemental—spade, sand, sea air and heat—but the beach is also a powerful coastal environment and a taonga cared for by Ngāti Hei and the local community. Check the current local tide table, weather, access information and safety alerts before setting out; the digging area is usable only around the appropriate low-tide window and conditions can differ from a timetable. Hire a spade locally rather than carrying unnecessary equipment, park legally and use the recognised geothermal section without disturbing dunes, vegetation or protected areas. Test emerging water cautiously with a hand or foot before sitting down because small patches can be hot enough to scald. Mix cooler seawater into the pool, keep children within arm’s reach and step out if anyone feels faint, overheated or unwell. Strong currents and rips occur offshore: swim only between lifeguard flags when they are operating, and if in doubt stay out of the sea. Build a shallow pool without enclosing or undermining other visitors, share limited space and refill the hole completely before leaving so it does not become a hazard. Take every item and piece of litter away. Completion is enjoying one comfortably warm, temporary sand pool while respecting local guidance and the living beach—not digging into dangerously hot water, treating a low-tide visit as permission to swim in unsafe surf or leaving a crater behind.

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