Hot pools are winter’s best argument

There is a specific pleasure that only exists in winter: sitting in hot water while cold air sits on your shoulders. New Zealand is absurdly well supplied with it — geothermal pools, heated complexes, spring-fed baths — and July is when the temperature difference does its best work.

Timing is everything

Locals go at odd hours: weekday mornings, the last session on a cold night, any time it’s raining — steam plus rain is the connoisseur’s combination. Weekend afternoons belong to the crowds; cede them gracefully.