St Claire Hot Saltwater Pool

This is one of my favour pools in New Zealand and if you are down south make sure you take time to have a swim here. The saltwater pool on the St Claire Esplanade cops its share of wild seas and the site is spectacular. Located on a rocky shelf the pool is open to the ocean on two sides. To the east is the long sweep of St Clair and St Kilda beaches popular with surfers who zip past the pool just metres away. To the south is the southern ocean, pounded by high seas that occasionally break over the protecting walls into the pool causing the pool to close. A pool was first built in1884, and has developed over the years and at one stage in the 1940s even included a hydrotherapy clinic. Thankfully heated since the early 1960s, St Clair was thoroughly renovated in 2003. St Clair pools today are a modern swimming facility particularly popular with those of mature years keeping fit and it is claimed that some older local folk walk down to the pool early in the morning still clad in their pjs and dressing gown. A small café, part of the pool complex, offers good coffee, wraps, cake and the ubitiquous cheese rolls. Added to the charm is nearby renovated Hydro Hotel and several good cafes and bars.