Hot poolHidden gem
Mangatutu Hot Springs
Puketitiri, Hawke's Bay
Two free hot tubs on a bluff above the Mohaka River, with a DOC campsite beside them.
- Cost
- Free
- Booking
- No need to book
- Time to allow
- 2 hours
Hot water trickles down the cliff above the Mohaka River into two soaking pools, reached by a short track from the Makahu Road car park. It's free for day visitors and campers, which makes it one of the last of its kind. Getting here takes about an hour of gravel from Napier and there's a river ford to cross.
Good to know
- Crossing the ford on Makahu Road can be impossible after heavy rain or snowmelt
- No caravans or campervans are allowed
- Take all your rubbish out
- Check DOC for closures, the site has been threatened with closure over antisocial behaviour
- Best time
- Dry spell, evening
- Open
- All year
- Getting there
- About an hour of unsealed road from Puketitiri, with a river ford
- Vehicles
- No campervans
Facilities
- Picnic tables
- Toilets
- Drinking water
Data: Roadtrip. Things change: check opening times, prices and rules before you go.
Know what the drive costs
Roadtrip works out the fuel or charging cost of any drive for your exact car, finds the cheapest stations on the way, and plans the stops.
Rated 4.7 by drivers · 700,000 downloads
