Day 8 in New Zealand

From Thames, we traveled back to Hot Water Beach right in time for low tide. At a beach shop, we hired a spade (i.e. rented a shovel) and walked down the beach to the thermal area. There were probably about one hundred people either sitting in or digging holes. I guess there are thermal spots below the sand, and if you dig down a little bit, you’ll get a pool of warm water. James and I searched around for a spot of ground at just the right temperature. James dug around for a while and tried to adjust the temperature with canals of hot and cold water. The water in our pool was very hot, even though it was only a few inches deep. We left after a while and headed back down towards Thames and onto Hamilton. On the way, we stopped in Paeroa, where the famous Lemon and Paeroa (L&P) soda is made. Someone found some mineral springs in the town a while back and used that water to make the soda. We made sure to take a picture with the huge L&P bottle by the museum. We finally showered in our Hotel in Hamilton, which is where a large majority of the LDS members live. We caught up with the Jamiesons, a family James knew while serving in Te Puke, and had dinner at an Italian place in town. It was good to meet them and catch up for a while. Again, it was weird for James to see how much all the kids had grown up. In Temple View, we checked out the Church College of New Zealand (which is closing soon) and of course, the Hamilton New Zealand temple.