For a week, our family had been steeped in "the other New Zealand" - exploring the East Cape's untamed hinterland, its fabulous cliff-edged beaches and rich, living Maori culture.
Now we were heading back towards the South Island, driving through more straw-coloured countryside on yet another bright, thirsty day as the family van chased State Highway 2 south of Gisborne towards the northern reaches of Hawke Bay.
By the time we returned to Dunedin, after a month away, we would have travelled more than 5000km.
Where we would spend this night had not been decided - that was part of the adventure.
We only knew we all shared twin desires for a change of scenery and relief from the heat.
It was as the calls from the backseat for ice-blocks and toilet stops grew more voluble that the landscape suddenly and pleasantly changed.
The road was enveloped by lush native bush and, as we rounded a corner, a sign proclaimed we were inside the Morere Springs Scenic Reserve.
So, that was the secret of this verdant refuge in a drought-prone land.
Pulling off the road, we hastily consulted an assortment of travel guides.
Lonely Planet said "Morere's famous hot springs burble up from a fault line" feeding "hot and cold pools among lowland forest". It was, we decided, the respite we sought.
Across the road from Morere Hot Springs a couple of options for our night's accommodation presented themselves.
We booked in at the Morere Tearooms and Camping Grounds - a long, narrow property bounded by the highway and the cool, clear Tunanui stream that wound along the bottom of a bush-topped cliff.
It was a rare pleasure to sit outside our cabin, looking up at the cloudless blue expanse between cliff and trees as we sheltered in the deep, refreshing shade that filled our "lost world".
Notable for its stands of nikau palms, the 200ha Department of Conservation-administered reserve is one of the last tracts of native lowland rainforest on the east coast of New Zealand.
Here, rimu, totara and matai grow tall among nikau, tawa, kohekohe and pukatea.
On higher ground are remnant stands of native beech, while the undergrowth is crowded with ferns, orchids, shrubs and vines.
Large kereru or native pigeon are plentiful among a wide variety of native bird-life.
King of the night is the ruru, or native owl, which watches over a forest transformed into a glow-worm wonderland.
It was after dinner - but while there were still a couple of hours sunshine left in the day - that we made our way across the road to the mineral hot pools.
Green expanses of lawn led in one direction towards two large pools and private hire pools and in the other direction towards bush walks taking bathers to more pools up the hill.
The tracks range from the 10-minute family walk to the Nikau Pools to energetic three-hour hikes.
The children charged off along the wide bush track as we strolled, reading occasional trackside information.
The springs produce 250,000 litres a day of ancient sea water. This "fossilised salt water" travels for thousands of years before it bubbles up in Morere, emerging from a fractured fault line running across the Mangakawa Valley, to be piped to the pools.
The pools, which are said to have therapeutic qualities, were used in pre-colonial times by members of Ngati Kahungunu and stumbled upon by Europeans in the 1890s.
A few more bends in the track and we could see, through the trees, steam rising to beckon us towards the hot mineral waters.
We had travelled far to be here, both our family and these waters. We would enjoy the meeting.
Bruce Munro is a journalist at The Star.
If you go
- Morere Springs Scenic Reserve is on State Highway 2, about 60km southwest of Gisborne and 149km northeast of Napier.
- The Morere Hot Springs are open every day from 10am, except December 24 and 25, and in the event of storm damage.
- Closing times vary from 5pm in the winter to 9pm during summer. Late access by arrangement.
- Entry prices are adults $6 and children $3.
