A soak amid Maruia’s natural beauty
Through the steam, we could see hills covered in ancient forest rising up from the river. Birdsong rang out down the valley, beckoning us from our warm recline.
Two and a half hours northwest of Christchurch sits Maruia Hot Springs, a resort my partner Josie and I had been meaning to visit since moving to Christchurch two years ago.
Nestled next to Maruia River, the off-grid resort boasts a range of ways to unwind including naturally sourced hot pools, Japanese massage chairs, an infrared sauna and relaxation room. If you were considering an escape as temperatures begin to drop, Maruia Hot Springs offers a great option.
We arrived late on a Friday after leaving work early, in time to check in and book a time for dinner. Not messing around, we downed a cup of herbal tea and headed for the pools.
If the staff had not explained the algae in the pools, we may have been shocked. Apparently the abundant black algae naturally forms in the water, which is piped in from a natural hot spring across the river. We were told similar algae is collected in Japan and put into baths at home, heralded for its health benefits.
Too hot to bathe in straight from the spring, the hot water is mixed with cold and flows through the pools at a rate of 500,000 litres a day.
We made our way from the coolest pool clockwise to the hottest, but couldn’t fathom the cool plunge pool. A quick shower and we were off to dinner, just up the steps from our superior room, refurbished since new owners took over the resort in 2015.
Our server for the evening, Justine, greeted us with a Scottish smile and showed us to a window table looking out over the valley as the sun set.
The reliable menu offered classic fare and we happily devoured our meals with a glass or two of Charles Wiffen pinot gris from Marlborough.
Dinner done, we retreated to the indoor hot pool, a stone-lined building of perfect proportion. Japanese style showers lined the room, transporting bathers to a place of tranquility under low light.
Our muscles felt as softened as conditioned butter as we slipped into bed, waking many hours later to low cloud hanging among the hills. A buffet breakfast was welcomed before we checked out and headed into the moss-covered forest for a walk. The pools were the highlight, but the surrounding bush came in a close second.
The luxury of soaking in hot pools in such a natural environment cannot be understated. It often snows in the valley, and as soon as it does Josie and I will be pulling a mental health day and heading back to Maruia for round two.
The writer was hosted by Maruia Hot Springs.
The off-grid resort boasts a range of ways to unwind including naturally sourced hot pools, Japanese massage chairs, an infrared sauna and relaxation room.