“On the Coast of Coromandel,
Where the early pumpkins grow,
In the middle of the woods
Lived the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo.
Two old chairs, and half a candle,
One old jug without a handle,
These were all his worldly goods:
In the middle of the woods,
These were all the worldly goods
Of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo.
Of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo.”
Edward Lear 1812-1888
Go back some 44 years and imagine two small Scottish children transported to the other side of the world knowing nobody. But they had been brought up on poems and nonsense rhymes rather than Nursery Rhymes and The Courtship of the Yongh-Bonghy-Bo was one of their favourites.
Imagine their delight therefore, when a couple of weeks after arriving in this new and strange land, we discovered there is an area in New Zealand called The Coromandel.
Of course we had to visit the area at the first possible opportunity. I think my little children expected to see the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo or at the very least The Lady Jingly Jones. Not so but what we did discover was Hot Water Beach, known forever in this family as Hot Water Bottle Beach. This is a fantastic phenomenon experience. Here one can dig into the sand and hot water escapes to the surface forming a hot water pool. We are told by our friends at Wikipedia ” The water, with a temperature as hot as 64°C (147°F), filters up from two underground fissures located close to each other. These natural springs can be found on the beach opposite the off-shore rocks. Visitors often dig large holes and relax and soak in the thermal water. Many visitors bring a spade and bucket with them. Spades can also be hired from the nearby surf shop.”
Via Wikipedia
So the children quickly got over their initial disappointment and enjoyed a winter’s day at the beach. We returned often during the years when they were growing up.
Related articles
- Edward Lear’s parrot drawings (boingboing.net)
- Stray bus to Coromandel and on to Raglan.. – Raglan, New Zealand (travelpod.com)
- Hot Water Beach (gorentals.co.nz)
This sounds like just my sort of beach, one with hot water. 🙂
it is quite amazing really to sit in a dip in the sand and have really hot water around you. 🙂
How do you hire a spade? Does the employment agreement include health care, vacations and pension? What about dental coverage? How strong are the spade trade unions? Are they allowed to vote?
Hi Carl – only you would think of all those things. The rest of us just rely on our own medical coverage but unfortunately mine doesn’t cover dental work. So I think I’ll let someone else dig in the sand for me. Thanks for the comment – maybe you could produce one of your wonderful cartoons on this. 🙂
I would SO love that!
It is unlike anything else I have ever encountered. The children were entranced.
That’s amazing, Judith, I had no idea of this.
There are pockets of Geo thermal activity all around New Zealand but I don’t know of any other that comes up on a beach.
I’m not familiar with this either, Judith!
Love Edward Lear…
Wendy
I think it’s one of the country’s best kept secrets. 🙂
I think I’d like to visit that Hot Water Bottle beach!
Well come on over friend. Plenty of cold drinks for any hot days and coffee for the others. Would love to take you there. 🙂
I wanna go too!
Come on over with Winseomebella then we can have a beach party! 🙂
Wonderful beach!
Long stretch of golden sand, clear blue water and the added bonus of the Geo thermal springs. How lucky can one get?
Spending time in the waters in the Northumberland Strait in Nova Scotia, where the water is numbing, this warm water beach sounds divine.
it is quite a phenomenon – hot springs, sand and sea water.