Morere Hot Springs

The water at Morere is unusual: it is fossil seawater, trapped in rock roughly as saline as the sea and around five million years old, rising through a fault and emerging warm. That makes these mineral pools rather than the sulphurous geothermal water found further west, and the smell is absent. The springs sit inside a 364-hectare scenic reserve of mature coastal forest with one of the better stands of nikau palm in the country, and the walk to the Nikau Pools - the two more remote ones, a short uphill track through the trees - is a genuine part of the visit. Closer in there are family pools and private tubs. The complex has had funding problems over the years and facilities are basic and periodically closed for repair, so it is worth confirming what is open before driving out.

What you actually see

• The fossil seawater - saline, warm, around five million years old.
• The Nikau Pools - the further pools, reached on a forest track.
• The nikau palm forest - a mature stand in the surrounding reserve.
• The walking tracks - short loops through the reserve.

When to go

Any season - cold days suit the pools. The tracks are muddy in winter. Check opening before travelling; the site has closed for maintenance at times.

Honest expectations

Facilities are basic and dated, and the site has had funding difficulties. Not geothermal - the water is saline mineral water, so no sulphur smell but also no bubbling ground. Remote; the nearest towns are 40 kilometres away.

Nearby

Mahia Peninsula is south; Gisborne is north-east.