The Dunedin businessman has launched Oranga Saunas and hopes for a good turnout at the beaches.
The portable sauna will travel to St Clair, Brighton and Macandrew Bay beaches during the week.
"I started building the sauna about Christmas. I had initially hoped to have it built during January, but the delays ended up being perfect, as we have been able to launch as the temperatures get colder," Mr Lilburne said.
The portable sauna could hold up to six people at a time with a session lasting up to 55 minutes.
"When it’s this cold anywhere else in the world, people would have saunas in their houses.
"Obviously, it’s a pretty sweaty way to meet people ... but the response has been really cool. It’s been placed in quite a central spot."
Mr Lilburne said he was trying it at the three locations each week.
"St Clair is quite busy, so it might not be the best place to be sweating in your bikini while someone is walking the dog, whereas Brighton and Macandrew Bay are more reserved.
"The point is to ensure all the communities are represented."
The saunas would be located close enough to the beach that people could jump out of them and have a cool dip in the water, he said.
Mr Lilburne has several other business ventures, including working as a landscaping contractor, commercial skipper and paua diver.
He established Oranga Saunas from the profits of his forestry work.
"It was so I could move into a new industry and stop doing jobs that hurt my back. I'm quite diverse I guess. I just love seeing a need and meeting it."
