Tidal pools at dusk, New Zealand. Photo / Getty
Today is World Water Day. These are the Travel team's favourite spots to enjoy the Earth's most precious resource
Maggie Wicks
Climbing down the rickety and slippery wooden ladder that leads into the Sua Trench in Samoa is like descending into prehistoric times.
This ocean trench is a 30m-deep sinkhole with sheer, vegetation-covered sides that lead down to a turquoise pool of tidal seawater. That ladder is a steep affair - I witnessed some people change their minds midway down - but if you can reach the bottom, the water is warm, clear, sandy-bottomed bliss.
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A series of ropes run through the water to help pull yourself along, which means capable children can join you.
Stay away from the ocean side - there is a current in the trench, and a cave that leads out to sea.
Instead, hold onto the rope, hold your phone above your head and aim for the small inland cave, where you can scramble up the shore, and take the best photograph of your holiday.
Maggie Wicks
Deep within the Coromandel's Kauaeranga Valley lies a legendary swimming pool. Never mind the sandflies, the rocky shore you have to hobble across, and the occasional eel. Hoffman's Pool is the perfect place for bombing.
You get there by walking 30 minutes from the DoC Kauaeranga visitor centre (which is a 20-minute drive from Thames), or just two minutes through the bush from the small car park off the metal road that runs through the valley.
The pool is deep and clear, the cliff is high - but not too high, and with several jumping-off points to choose. One is good for kids, the higher levels for teens and adults (although I've found that by 40, the top level becomes too high once again).
Don't believe the locals - the water is freezing. But since you have to swim across to get to the cliff, you'll know that long before you hit the surface, curled up like a happy cannonball.
Juliette Silvertsen
I'll always remember the first time I descended below the surface at Poor Knights Islands, believing I was in some other exotic location in the world, not here in New Zealand. It was for my PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification and I was a nervous diver, despite having already completed my initial training. But staring into the depths of the ocean below me, the bountiful marine life and beauty of the underwater landscape instantly put my breathing at ease.
Located off the Tutukaka Coast, the islands and the water around them are a nature and marine reserve, helping encourage the plant, animal and diverse marine life to thrive. The Poor Knights Islands are considered one of the best sub-tropical diving spots in the world due to the mix of warm currents that flow into our temperate waters, bringing a variety of tropical fish and species that are not typical for the New Zealand climate.
Below the horizon line, the islands form underwater caves, chasms, arches, tunnels and cliffs to explore, meaning divers can return time after time and always have something new to discover. For non-divers, the snorkelling is just as spectacular and you'll feel as if you're floating on top of an aquarium.
Juliette Sivertsen
Whereas most travellers go to Fiji enjoy soaking in the bath-like temperatures of the ocean, sometimes a fierce, refreshing wake-up under a waterfall is required to beat the humidity. The Fiji Islands are home to countless impressive and powerful waterfalls thanks to its mountainous landscape and tropical rainfall.
On the remote island group of Kadavu, there is a village about an hour's walk away from Matava Eco Resort, a trek that follows the coastline and can be done only at low tide. On the other side of the Kadavu Koro village is an impressive tiered waterfall with a large swimming hole.
During my trek, I unintentionally collect a small gathering of children along the way, who I learn are all eager to see the foreigner's reaction to their local play area. The waterfall's rock pool is large, deep, and cold enough for me to forget I'm on a tropical island. The locals want me to climb up the rocks and dive bomb into the rock pool.
Scrambling is not my forte, but the views from the different tiers of the waterfall are more than worth the effort. Tip: practice pull-ups before your trip to help strengthen your arm muscles so you can climb up the rocks with far more ease and grace than I did.
Stephanie Holmes
I'm sorry, but I can't tell you the name of this little lake I love. It's not that I don't want to, it's just I never caught its name.
I'd been walking the Routeburn Track — three days and two nights of the most spectacular alpine beauty, the freshest fresh air and star-filled night skies. It was our final day and we were walking down from the Routeburn Falls. My feet were throbbing and my calves were tight and somehow the downhill seemed so much harder than the up.
We took a tea break by a small lake, with the clearest, bluest water I've ever seen. It looked so pure, I couldn't resist scooping up a handful and drinking it right up. It tasted as fresh as it looked. It possibly didn't help the water's freshness, but I peeled off my hiking boots and dipped my feet in the icy water — it was the best medicine. The early-March sunshine still had some power so a few of us changed into our togs and gingerly waded across to a huge slab of rock, pulling ourselves up using a fallen tree.
Grown men squealed like tiny children as they dived in and felt the slap of cold water hit them.
I steeled myself and did the same — it was the most invigorating swim of my life and I went back again and again and again.
Eventually, we had to continue our walk, finishing at the Routeburn Shelter before a bus transfer to Glenorchy. We emerged into the real world, slightly bewildered, like someone had suddenly turned the lights on in a very dark room. The beauty had been so all-consuming, it was hard to let it go.
You can find the lake — or many just like it — by walking the Routeburn Return, a four-day/three-night hike, which replaces the Routeburn Great Walk until the end of the season (the latter is closed due to flood damage sustained in February). Bookings are open and available until April 30, then from November 2 — see doc.govt.nz or ultimatehikes.co.nz for more information.
Stephanie Holmes
Close your eyes and picture a tropical island escape. What do you see? Palm trees and lush ferns, squeaky white sand and turquoise water? Aitutaki Lagoon has it all.
Fly over on a daytrip from Rarotonga or, better still, spend a few days there. Some accommodation will even let you step directly into the lagoon from your deck. Spend evenings with a cool drink and a warm island breeze, your feet in the balmy water which is teeming with colourful marine life.
Get your passport stamped at One Foot Island, so named because of its shape; hire a scooter and explore; hike up to Mt Maunga Pu for 360 degree views of the lagoon and beyond.
This is a place dreams are made of, so idyllic you might even wonder if you're in a movie. The Truman Show Goes Tropical, perhaps?
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