New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

has a large number of

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

, known as ''waiariki'' in

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

. Many of them are used for therapeutic purposes. The highest concentration of such springs is in the Central Plateau region of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

, in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. The area of

Whakarewarewa Whakarewarewa (reduced version of Te Whakarewarewatanga O Te Ope Taua A Wahiao, meaning ''The gathering place for the war parties of Wahiao'', often abbreviated to Whaka by locals) is a Rotorua semi-rural geothermal area in the Taupo Volcanic ...

near

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

is also known as Waiariki due to the abundance of geothermal features in the area.

Hot springs of New Zealand

This is an incomplete list and does not include the less notable or popular locations.

North Island

Broadlands Broadlands is an English country house, located in the Civil parishes in England, civil parish of Romsey Extra, near the town of Romsey in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The formal gardens and historic landscape of Broadlands ...

* Frying Pan Lake now known as Waimangu Cauldron *

Hot Water Beach Hot Water Beach is a beach on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand, just south of Mercury Bay. It is approximately 12 kilometres south east of Whitianga, and approximately 175 kilometres from Auckland by car. Its name comes fr ...

(Hahei) *

Katikati Katikati is a town in New Zealand (North Island) located on the Uretara Stream near a tidal inlet towards the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, 28 kilometres south of Waihi and 40 kilometres northwest of Tauranga. State Highway 2 passes through ...

Kawerau Kawerau is a town in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated 100 km south-east of Tauranga and 58 km east of Rotorua. It is the seat of the Kawerau District Council, and the only town in Kawerau Distric ...

* Ketetahi Springs * Mangatutu Hot Springs *

Matamata Matamata () is a town in Waikato, New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which takes ...

(Crystal Hot springs) * Miranda * Morere *

Mount Maunganui Mount Maunganui (, ) is a major residential, commercial and industrial suburb of the Tauranga metropolitan area, located on a peninsula to the north-east of Tauranga's city centre. It was an independent town from Tauranga until the completio ...

Mount Ruapehu Mount Ruapehu (; ) is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and North Island volcanic plateau in New Zealand. It is northeast of Ohakune and southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupō, within the Tongari ...

Ngawha Springs Ngawha Springs ( mi, Ngāwhā) is a small settlement and hot water springs approximately five kilometres east of the town of Kaikohe in Northland, New Zealand. ''Ngāwhā'' means "boiling spring". The springs reputedly have therapeutic, balne ...

Okoroire Okoroire ( Maori: ''Ōkoroire'') is a small settlement in the South Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, centered around the Okoroire Hot Springs. The place name means 'place of the ''koroire'' / ''toroire'', an exti ...

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 kilo ...

Parakai Parakai is a town in the North Island of New Zealand, sited 43 kilometres (27 miles) northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. Helensville is about 3 km (2 miles) to the south-east, and Waione ...

, Helensville *

* Taupo (Spa Creek, De Bretts) *

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

Te Aroha Te Aroha ( mi, Te Aroha-a-uta) is a rural town in the Waikato region of New Zealand with a population of 3,906 people in the 2013 census, an increase of 138 people since 2006. It is northeast of Hamilton and south of Thames. It sits at the f ...

Te Puia Springs Te Puia Springs is a village on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, located 103 km north of Gisborne. Its population is estimated to be between 300 and 400 people. The village has a hospital and one shop. It has natural sp ...

(

Gisborne region Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region (Māori: ''Te Tairāwhiti'' or ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'') is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by Gisborne District Council, a unitary authority (with the combined powers of ...

) *

(Kawhia) *

Tokoroa Tokoroa ( mi, Te Kaokaoroa o Pātetere) is the fifth-largest town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and largest settlement in the South Waikato District. Located 30 km southwest of Rotorua, close to the foot of the M ...

Waihi Village Waihi Village, also known as Little Waihi, is a small Māori community of around 25 households on the southwestern shores of Lake Taupo seven kilometres northwest of Turangi, New Zealand. It has been the site of three major landslides, in 1910, ...

Tokaanu Tokaanu is a small settlement close to Tūrangi at the southern end of Lake Taupō. The Tokaanu Thermal Pools and the easy access to Lake Taupo make it a popular lakeside holiday destination. A short walking track through the Tokaanu thermal ar ...

, and MotuoapaArea guide
Turangi. near Turangi *

Waingaro Waingaro is a rural community in the Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, on the banks of the Waingaro River, where it is fed by a hot spring. Demographics Waingaro is in an SA1 statistical area which covers . ...

Wairakei Wairakei is a small settlement, and geothermal area a few kilometres north of Taupō, in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand, on the Waikato River. It is part of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and features several natural geysers, hot pool ...

Waiwera Waiwera is a small town in the north of the Auckland Region in New Zealand. Waiwera is 6 km north of Orewa, 6 km south-east of Puhoi, 23 km south-east of Warkworth and approximately 35 km from the Auckland City centre. The ...

, near

Orewa Orewa is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. It lies on the Hibiscus Coast, just north of the base of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, Whangaparāoa Peninsula and 40 kilometres north of central Auckland. It is a popular holiday destin ...

* Whakatane ( Awakeri springs) *

Whitianga Whitianga is a town on the Coromandel Peninsula, in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is located on Mercury Bay, on the northeastern coast of the peninsula. The town has a permanent population of as of making it the ...

(The Lost Spring)

South Island

Hanmer Springs Hanmer Springs is a small town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. The Māori name for Hanmer Springs is Te Whakatakanga o te Ngārahu o te ahi a Tamatea, which means “where the ashes of Tamate’s (sic) fire lay” ...

Hurunui River The Hurunui River is the fourth largest of the four principal rivers in north Canterbury, New Zealand, with a catchment area of . The river flows from the eastern side of the Southern Alps, to the Pacific Ocean. Geography The head of the Hurunu ...

* Maruia Springs,

Maruia River The Maruia River is located in the northwestern South Island of New Zealand. It is a major tributary of the Buller River, flowing for 80 km before joining the larger river eight kilometres to the west of Murchison. The Maruia River rise ...

* Otehake River *

Wanganui River The Wanganui River is in the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It flows northwest for from its headwaters in the Southern Alps, entering the Tasman Sea near Lake Ianthe, southwest of Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the Wes ...

* Welcome Flat,

Copland River The Copland River is a river on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It flows for from its headwaters in the Southern Alps to its confluence with the Karangarua River. The headwaters of the Copland lie only northwest of Aoraki / ...

References

External links

{{commons category, Hot springs of New Zealand
The comprehensive guidebook 'Hot Springs of New Zealand' has been compiled by New Zealand's authority on recreational hot springs - hotspringsofnz.nz

A list of 100 hot springs and hot pools in New Zealand - nzhotpools.co.nz
*

Hot springs of New Zealand

North Island

South Island

See also

References

Further reading

External links