Day at the beach

Today I had made plans to go to Doctor’s Beach with another guest Dean.  I had been the only guest at the accommodation until Dean turned up.

We weren’t leaving till mid/late morning so I took a short visit to Pupu Springs (officially Waikoropupu Springs).  The waters of the springs are amongst the clearest in the country.  It was stunning as usual but perhaps I should try a visiting at a different time (from previous visits) to catch it in different light.

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I took a quick visit to Paine’s Ford very near my accommodation.  It’s a swimming spot in the stony river.  I realised that there were actually two swimming areas but with time running out until my meet-up with Dean, I had to leave it for now and hopefully return for another exploration tomorrow.

Dean picked up an acquaintance Paul, before we headed out to Doctor’s Beach.  This is an unmarked beach on the road to Wainui Falls.  It is very secluded and accessed via a steep and narrow pathway.

To my surprise, once we got to the bottom of the path we met an obese gentleman on the beach.  It can’t be an easy walk for him (or the other one that joined us on the beach later in the day).

We set ourselves up under the partial shade of some trees.  Being so secluded, this is a clothing-optional beach.  I estimate we spent more than 2h here chilling, walking and swimming in the chilly water.  A couple and a family came down to the beach during our stay.  We were all very lucky to have chosen today to spend on the beach.  It was an absolutely scorcher of a day!

I grabbed dinner from the local takeaway tonight.  It was much better value than eating in with my hosts but I didn’t have much choice last night (and I wanted to support them for being so hospitable).