Tarawhata Thermal Spa

An unexpected attraction in an unexpected location. Though many of New Zealand's thermal assets are liberally spread throughout the country, this one in suburban New Plymouth is unusual. A natural spa, of warm mineral water, that never would have been discovered if it wasn't for oil exploration.

Tarawhata Thermal Spa, also known as Bonithon-One-Bore is the by product of a deep drilling exercise that took place here in 1906, that only found warm water rich in minerals. So special is this water, after 29,000 years underground, that it has been compared to the greatest European Spa Resorts. Proven to be present are:

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• Barium


• Beryllium


• Borate


• Boron


• Bromide


• Cadmium


• Calcium 3.8mg/L


• Cesium


• Chloride


• Chromium


• Cobalt

• Copper


• Calcium Fluoride


• Iron


• Lithium


• Magnesium 1.3mg/L


• Manganese


• Molybdenum


• Nickel


• Nitrate


• Phosphate


• Potassium 3.3mg/L

• Rubidium


• Selenium 0.0008mg/L


• Silica 20 mg/L


• Silver


• Sodium 324 mg/L


• Strontium


• Sulfide


• Sulphate


• Vanadium


• Zinc 0.0004mg/L

The interesting history of this resource has seen it used, on and off, as a bathing facility, but never exploited to it's full potential. It has gone by the names Bonithon and Tarawhata, and Taranaki Spa. An 'Egyptian Herbalist' named H Reedman worked from here in the 1930s. Even when it was closed during the 1960s, competetive swimmers trained here.

Now trading as a dayspa, with an apartment available upstairs. Lately Pure One have begun bottling this water for drinking, marketing it as alkaline, and they sell it on site, so the days of this spring being under-utilised may be over.

NZPlaces needs a picture of Tarawhata Thermal Spa

Image Credit: Pure One