Te Puia Hot Springs, Ocean Beach (Kāwhia)

What to expect

Kāwhia’s hot springs are on Ocean Beach, a long, wild black-sand beach on the Tasman Sea, about 4 km from the small harbour town of Kāwhia in the western Waikato. Geothermal water seeps up through the sand along a roughly 100 m stretch of beach. When the tide is out far enough, you dig a hole, it fills with warm water that smells faintly of sulphur, and you lie in it while the surf breaks nearby.

This is the west coast cousin of the better-known Hot Water Beach on the Coromandel, and it is much quieter. Expect a handful of people on most days rather than a crowd. It is also simpler. The holes are shallow, usually no more than about 20 cm deep before the sand caves in, so you are lying in warm water rather than sitting in a tub. Kawhia Camping Ground gives the spring water as about 113°F45°C, which is pleasantly hot once mixed with a little seawater.

The local name for the springs is Te Puia. The beach has no facilities at the hot water area.

Getting there

Kāwhia is about 1 hour 25 minutes by car from Hamilton. The springs are about 4 km from the township. Drive through town and follow Te Puia Road to its end, where there is a car park behind the dunes.

From the car park, it is a walk of a few minutes over a large sand dune to the beach. The hot area is on the beach to the right of the dune track. Look for small raised patches of sand, wisps of steam, or the smell of sulphur. If you cannot find it, the staff at the Kāwhia Museum and Information Centre (Te Whare Taonga o Kāwhia) in town will tell you where to dig and when.

The dune walk is soft sand, so the springs are not suitable for wheelchairs or prams.

When to go

The tide decides everything. The hot sand is only uncovered for roughly two hours either side of low tide. At spring low tides, around the full and new moon, the patch is exposed for about four hours. At neap tides, the sea may not pull back far enough to uncover it at all, or only briefly, and waves can flood your hole as soon as you dig it. Check a Kāwhia tide table and pick one of the lowest tides of the month.

If low tide falls in the late afternoon, you can lie in a hot sand pool while the sun goes down over the Tasman. Summer and holiday weekends bring more people, but this beach rarely gets busy. Winter visits are cold and windy on the dunes, but the warm water is welcome.

Rules and etiquette

There is no entry fee, no staff and no posted list of rules. A few points:

• Bring a shovel. The Kāwhia Museum and Information Centre rents out small ones, and Kawhia Camping Ground lends them free to guests.
• Swimsuits. It is a public beach used by families.
• Leave no trace. Take your rubbish back over the dunes, and fill in your hole when the tide allows.
• Respect Kāwhia’s history. Kāwhia Harbour is the site of the historic landing and final resting place of the Tainui waka, the ancestral canoe of the Waikato Māori people, and the area has many sites important to Tainui. The waka’s prow and stern are marked by two stones near Maketū Marae. Marae are private community spaces: visit only on the public walk or by invitation, and follow any signs or instructions from locals.

Local tourism sources do not say who holds title to the beach land at the springs. Access is by the public road to the Te Puia Road car park.

Where to stay nearby

• Kawhia Camping Ground on Moke Street, close to the harbour and boat ramp and about 4 km from the springs. The office can tell you the best times to dig and lends shovels to guests.
• Kāwhia has only a few other places to stay, mostly holiday homes, so book early for the summer holidays and the Kāwhia Kai Festival.
• Ōtorohanga and Hamilton have a wider choice if Kāwhia is full.

Safety notes

• Surf and tide: Ocean Beach is an exposed, high-energy west coast surf beach pounded by Tasman Sea swells. Local sources make no mention of a lifeguard patrol. Do not swim to cool off unless you are confident in heavy surf, and keep watching the waves as the tide turns, because they will reach your hole without much warning.
• Hot spots: the spring water can be hot enough to sting. Test the water with a hand before lying down and keep a close eye on children.
• Head above water: you are unlikely to submerge in a 20 cm hole, but as at any geothermal pool in New Zealand, keep your face and nose out of the water.
• Sun and wind: there is no shade on the beach. Bring sunscreen, a hat, water and warm layers for the walk back over the dunes.
• Cars: leave nothing valuable in sight at the Te Puia Road car park.

Nearby stops worth adding

Kāwhia Museum and Information Centre in town covers the area’s history, from carvings and fossils to the geothermal beach. Maketū Marae and the Tainui waka stones are on the northern shore of the inner harbour, reached by a short walk from town. The Ocean Beach walk itself is a 3-hour return wander along the coast. Fishing charters run from the harbour year-round.