Once confined to upmarket spas and grimy gyms, saunas are popping up across the country
On a clear winter morning on the coast of New Zealand’s capital, a procession of steaming bodies emerge from a small shed-like building to throw themselves into the frigid sea.
Dripping wet, they return to sit in its 100 degree heat and wait for their skin to gather a patina of sweat before bolting back to the cool waters. Back and forth between the extreme temperatures they go, until an hour later they depart dreamy-eyed.
The sauna – a mobile unit parked up at Wellington’s Worser Bay – is running a roaring trade. Six days a week, from before dawn to well after dusk, Wellingtonians converge there to heat up, relax and socialise.
Until recently, New Zealand’s saunas were largely tucked away in upmarket spas, grimy gyms and public pools. But in a new – and perhaps a surprisingly late – addition to the nature-loving nation, saunas are popping up on beaches and in back gardens across the country as New Zealanders embrace the steamy ritual.
