New Zealand – Stop 1 - Hot water beach

So our Kiwi experience tour began the day after we arrived in New Zealand. That wasn't exactly how we wanted it to start, we would have preferred a day to get used to the timings and everything, but nevertheless at 7am the following day after we arrived we were off on the kiwi experience tour, heading south. We had booked onto the 'Rangi' tour, which is basically the whole of the North and South island. Most of their tours are discounted at some point or another so if you want to book one I would wait until it's at least half price (website linked here).

Our first stop was Hot Water Beach, but on our way their we had a few stops. One of the stops was at Cathedral Cove, where some films, including Narnia, and music videos e.g. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis – 'can't hold us' was filmed. The beach was simply stunning, but the water was freezing. I was all for getting in but there was absolutely no chance after I paddled a little bit, the sea was just too cold.

We then got to Hot Water Beach, which is basically a beach where you can dig your own hot bath. We attempted this a couple of times but in the end we basically stole someones hole that they dug. The water was boiling. It was soooo lovely, and it was nice to sit and chat to a couple of people we had met on the bus on our first day.

Cathedral Cove

Cathedral Cove

Hot Water Beach

Hope you enjoyed hearing about our first day on our four-month-long adventure, I hope to post as often as I possibly can, updating on what we've been up to. I thought at the bottom of every post I would write a little section about the accommodation we stayed in, what it was like, and how much we paid. Remember these are all hostels so 5/5 does NOT mean it is luxury. 

ACCOMMODATION- Top 10 Holiday Park - $30

Due to this place being quite isolated there wasn't any alternative for us to stay at. We were in a shared dorm of 7. The rooms were pretty small, but fine. There was 2 showers and 2 toilets between two rooms of 7, which seemed plenty. We had fish and chips there which was nice and was about $9. It was part of a campsite so was nice and the rooms as well as outside were clean, plus it had this inflatable trampoline thing which was fun.

Rating- 3.5/5