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a rock-a-bye drive to a lovely free hotpool
Butcher’s Pool
Miriam Richardson
Tucked away on a side road off SH5 (near Reporoa), is this free hot pool. The side road is a patchwork of deep pot holes, so its a rock-a-bye drive: up down, this side that side, fingers firmly crossed that the slow entry and exit from each hole will protect the tyres.
The pool is the size of an old primary school pool, with steps and rails leading you into the water. The water was quite low, judging from the lines on the wooden walls, but still plenty deep for a standing soak among the bubbles drifting up through its floor.
There was a bit of hot-pool-muck on the surface at either end, which I kept reminding myself was 100% natural, as I made sure to stay in the areas without any.
There are toilets, and the car park was big enough for my 8m to turn easily. There were two cars there when i arrived and a couple of famillies arrived as others left. Others were there for a rest stop and a chin wag rather than a soak.
Worth the slow 500m drive in; lovely hot water, and a lovely little nook nestled in the farmland.
©2025 M Richardson
Summer 2025
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