Saturday, January 11, 2014

St Clair Hot Salt Water Pool

If it's a warm day with the right wind direction (or no wind preferably) then taking the family to the St Clair Hot Salt Water Pool is a great (half) day out!  The Pool is located down at the infamous St Clair Beach.  The pool is actually built on the edge of the ocean and when it is high tide the pool is surrounded by the sea, crashing waves, surfers and all.

There are several awesome things about this pool.  The first is the price.  They have great rates for parents with toddlers on the weekends.  I think for the two adults and one child it was like $10 to swim.  And that wasn't a weekend.  Weekends I think it is like $3.50 for 1 adult and 1 child.  The next awesome thing is the free swim accessories they have.  There are floats, kick boards, flippers, goggles, snorkels etc.  Third, the pool is HEATED!  Fourth, there is a shallow bench on the side of the pool that parents can sit on or kids can play on if they don't want to get all the way in (and kids are old enough to be in the pool w/ out them.  Fifth, there is a cafĂ© w/ yummy toasty sandwiches and hot chocolate.

The secret to living and enjoying outdoor time in Dunedin is to understand the effects of the wind direction.  So, if there is a southerly, DO NOT GO TO THIS POOL.  When we went it was a north easterly, the sun was shining and it was so warm/hot at our house we just craved some water to swim in.  We got to the pool got out of the car.... oh my, that was a cold wind (I obviously don't understand the weather patterns b/c why a southerly was coming off the ocean in a north easterly is beyond me).  Since Bodie was dying to go to the pool, we went anyways and to be honest, we froze.  I have NEVER liked kiddie pools, but I found myself just laying in that on my back trying to keep as much of me as I could under the warm water and out of the cold wind.  We finally got smart and set up camp next to the south wall.  Then, the wind was blocked, the sun shined... and the day was great!

This is a place that on a nice hot sunny day I can imagine would be a very fun-filled day with a lot of enjoyment.  I can't wait to go back!


 
 The wall where we found shelter from the wind.
 

This is what is on the other side of the wall in the picture above.