Birthday Vacation Part 1 - The Lost Spring

It was Kane's birthday a couple of weeks ago and it'll be my turn in little under 2 months.  We decided a few years ago to try to take a trip somewhere to celebrate instead of buying presents.  What happens though is that we feel too guilty to not buy gifts so we still end up giving something and we go on a little mini vacation somewhere.

Since Kane had a week between finishing up at his old company and starting a new job we thought we would take the week away in Queenstown, but with crazy weather, oversubscribed flights and an influx of tourists for the winter festival we decided not to go.  Instead we went to Whitianga.

Whitianga is a lovely seaside town that's a very popular destination in the summer and was just perfect for a quiet winter break.  We stayed at the Beachside Resort apartments and our unit was lovely, spacious, clean and comfy.

//Image from Beachside Resort

Kane tried out the spa bath that was in the ensuite and really loved it and I tried out the supplied toiletries and really liked them.  I was sad that we didn't get a chance to try out the pool as it looked really nice and I had even brought my pool noodle with me.

I couldn't be too sad about missing pool time as I had spent a whole day in the water at the Lost Spring.  This was the highlight and the purpose of our trip and it was really handy that our complex has a shortcut and secret gate to the Lost Spring :)



//Image from The Lost Spring

The pools are geothermally heated to different temperatures and there were several different pools and areas to chill out.



//Image from The Lost Spring

There was a poolside bar but also there was a staff member who came round occasionally to take food and drinks orders or to bring you a glass of water and generally check if there was anything you need.  So friendly and helpful!  We ordered some food and cocktails and had them whilst still basking in the warm waters!


//Image from The Lost Spring

Although they had some soft unobtrusive island music playing, during the daylight hours we were treated to bird song and watched the fantails flit around.  Once it got dark, parts of the pools colourfully lit up as did the cave and the waterfall, the walkways and bridge had some soft lighting to carefully navigate by.  But the lighting was at the right level as not to take away from the spectacular natural light show of the stars and moon.

We lay in a comfy spot in a hot pool and just gazed up for ages, then we took a swim to a darker spot and got an even better view of the milky way.

I overheard a couple of ladies who had arrived as it was getting dark and it seems that they regularly visit the springs after work and I thought how wonderful that must be!

We loved every minute of the Lost Spring and Whitianga.  We'll certainly be going back again and probably in late summer so we can swim in the sea :)

In part 2, I'll tell you about our trip to Cathedral Cove.