Kerosene Creek is a naturally heated geothermal stream south of Rotorua on New Zealand’s North Island. Warm water flows through bush and over a small waterfall, creating one of the Rotorua region’s best-known unmanaged natural soaking places.
Unlike a commercial thermal pool, Kerosene Creek is not a staffed bathing complex. Rotorua’s official tourism organisation describes it as an unmanaged natural site with no lifeguards, while Rotorua Lakes Council says the land is privately owned within Kaingaroa Forest and public access is allowed. That combination makes the creek appealing, but it also means visitors need to take more responsibility for road conditions, water safety, belongings and the surrounding environment.
Kaitoke Hot Springs is a natural sulphurous hot springs area on Great Barrier Island / Aotea in New Zealand’s Auckland Region. The springs are reached by walking track rather than road, giving the visit a different feel from a developed thermal bath, resort pool, or roadside bore bath.
The experience is simple: follow the track through wetland and bush, reach the warm thermal pools, check the water carefully, and enjoy a low-key natural spring setting if conditions are suitable. It also gives travellers a useful contrast with inland bore baths: Kaitoke is reached on foot, sits in a natural island setting, and feels more like a quiet bush-and-stream hot spring than a roadside soak.