If summer ever actually arrives, Rhys James from AA Traveller has some suggestions for New Zealand’s best swimming spots.
McLaren Falls, Bay of Plenty. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / QFSE Media / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand licenseGeneric
He told Summer Days with Jesse Mulligan that AA has been collecting information on the best places to cool off from locals and its members for years.
One of his personal favourites is McLaren Falls in Bay of Plenty.
“It’s [got] a nice little walk down and then there’s a variety of different height rocks to jump off. If you take a nice picnic you can warm up lying on the rocks in the sun afterwards.”
Another is Bethells Lake (Lake Wainamu) in Auckland, which is about a 20 minute walk from the carpark you come to after you cross the one-way bridge just before Bethells Beach.
“This is definitely one of those ones to put on your bucket list if you are a fan of swimming,” James says.
Lake Wainamu near Bethells Beach in Auckland. Photo: Flickr / Peter
And in the South Island, jumping off the jetty into Lake Rotoiti in Nelson Lakes is a chilly, but lovely, experience, and there are many great places in Abel Tasman National Park, including Cleopatra’s Pool which features a natural waterslide.
Check out some more of AA’s suggestions here.
Lake Rotoiti, Nelson Lakes. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Oren Rozen / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand licenseGeneric
