Cunnamulla Hot Springs: The hottest thing you can do in the Outback

Words by Catherine Best for Escape.com.au

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I’m a spa tart and would travel just about anywhere for a good ‘prune’. Here’s my verdict on one of Australia’s best Outback oases.

Sinking into the thermal waters of one of Australia’s newest hot springs, I can almost sense my muscles breathe an audible sigh.

After a two-day journey crossing three states, a long soak is just what my body needs. And this is no ordinary soak. We dodged cattle, roadkill and an emu with a clutch of chicks to get to this oasis in the outback. And that was just this morning.

Welcome to Cunnamulla Hot Springs, Australia’s newest and most-remote spa destination, which has been laying out the fluffy robes for intrepid road tourers since February this year. It might seem an incongruous place for a hot spring – deep in dusty sheep and cattle grazing territory, 800km west of Brisbane. But the people of Cunnamulla (population 1200) have been enjoying the health benefits of mineral springs since long before wellness bathing was a thing.

The birds chitter up high, we witter down low.

The town sits above the Great Artesian Basin, one of the world’s largest aquifers, encompassing more than a fifth of the continent, including most of Queensland. At the springs, nature’s elixir is pumped from 500m underground, providing a continuous flow of mineral-rich geothermal water that is replenished every four hours. The water is funnelled into seven pools hugging the banks of the Warrego River, creating an idyllic bathing experience set among the gum and coolabah trees, while birds chitter in the branches.

The pools range in temperature from 30C to 43C and there’s also a cold plunge pool, chilled to a skin-prickling 10C, to complete the hot-cold wellness ritual. The sole indoor pool, Bandarra – meaning sky in Bidjara language – is a sun-smart sanctuary with a skylight peephole defusing the harsh outback glare. But if you want to be really skin-conscious, the Naiaru (stars) pool offers shallow-water bathing designed for dark-sky lounging beneath the heavens (you can even BYO drinks in the evenings).

The paint station is worth a visit too.

My favourite pools are the trio of riverfront lagoons (one accessible), sweeping in a concrete curlicue across the bank of the Warrego. Floating on your front here – elbows resting on the pool edge as butcherbirds flit in the treetops and cormorants unfurl their wings on a river branch to dry – is the outback done posh for this city slicker. And spa devotees are taking notice. The springs, owned by Paroo Shire Council but managed by Victorian bathing outfit Peninsula Hot Springs, have succeeded in luring more people to the outback. “I do think it has put Cunnamulla on the map,” says general manager Kai Davidson. “I’ve personally had conversations with many guests who have come out of their way to make a stop at the hot springs.”

The springs feature a steam room, sauna and a relaxation lounge where you can sip herbal tea in a hanging egg chair or recline on a daybed with a Zen Chi Relaxiciser machine. There’s also an outdoor paint station for applying mineral clay.

Mud bath soak

To elevate your mud-therapy experience, visit Artesian Mud Baths Eulo, a collection of three delightfully rustic open-air bathing sheds, 45 minutes west of Cunnamulla. The private 90-minute sessions begin with a half-hour soak in a 160-year-old antique bathtub, enriched with revitalising clay minerals, including magnesium, silica, calcium and potassium. Once sufficiently marinated, dry off with one of the composting eco-towels and pat clay onto your body. After five to seven minutes, the clay will set and crack (no need to rub your skin to get the exfoliating benefits), then climb back into the tub and soak it off. The experience concludes with a rinse off under the shower in a large corrugated iron booth.

A broad brim hat is a must for bathing here.

The Sunset shed is the pick of the bathing areas and comes with four tubs and a west-facing window looking out across the bush. In winter, the fireplace (upcycled from the old police station) is lit to ward off the evening chill. Bathing experiences come with broad sombrero hats (you will need them), an alcoholic beverage, snacks and barrels of laughs. Operator Edyta Brummell took over the mud baths five years ago and says guests emerge with “rosy cheeks and big smiles”; even the men who are typically less partial to wellness bathing. The men are actually the first ones to praise the experience, she says.

Artesian station stay

Continuing the region’s penchant for quirky outback soaks is Charlotte Plains, a 27,000ha family-owned sheep station where guests can combine swimming in artesian springs with a unique farm stay. The focal point of the 160-year-old station is the Borehead, where water gushes out of great industrial pipes at 42C, spilling into a large swimming basin before meandering down a bush channel. Porcelain bathtubs on a platform overlooking the bore provide the perfect sunrise perch – but you’ll need to get up well before dawn to nab this coveted spot. More tubs are dotted downstream, beside the campground where caravanners and campers vie for the best water-view sites.

I found an Outback oasis 800km west of Brissie. Picture: Charlotte Plains.

The campground has toilet and shower facilities and an atmospheric watering hole – Bore Baa – where performers entertain boardies- and bikini-clad crowds with country tunes over sundowners. After dark it’s all about stars and campfires. For non-campers, Charlotte Plains has a self-contained, two-bedroom cabin or basic rooms sleeping up to four in the Shearers Quarters.

Escape Route

Cunnamulla is 800km west of Brisbane. The closest commercial airport is at Charleville, 200km north.

Soak

All-day entry to Cunnamulla Hot Springs costs $45pp, concession $35, kids $25.

Bathing sessions at Artesian Mud Baths Eulo cost $95pp, kids from $25.

Stay

Unpowered sites at the Bore Campground at Charlotte Plains cost from $46 a couple. Double rooms from $120 a night.

The writer was a guest of Cunnamulla Hot Springs but travelled at her own expense.

This article first appeared in Escape > here