Peninsula Hot Springs, Vic
Little more than 15 minutes from Sorrento, behind the town of Rye on the southern peninsula, is Peninsula Hot Springs, the only natural thermal spa in Vic. At first, it seemed like insanity to exchange layers of winter clothes for a summer uniform of board shorts and bare chests on that windswept day, and take a dip in the middle of the bush. Fortunately for us, the springs are bone-warmingly good. Almost 700m below the surface is a natural spring, heated through a fault line to a temperature of 50°C. It’s full of all the healing minerals you might expect from a hot spring, but for those of you who have rotten-egg Rotorua, New Zealand as a point of reference, be assured that you’ll barely smell the sulphur here. The water still has a slight yellow tinge and it’s powerful stuff – your skin will feel great afterwards, but it’s best to remove any jewellery. Bathing takes place either in the reasonably sized public pool or at one of the smaller, secluded private baths. Either way you’ll benefit from the health-promoting properties of the water (cooled to a manageable but no less lovely 38°C, in most cases). The bush setting is a feature of the private baths, where you’re left alone to lie back in complete silence and peer up through the foliage of the coastal shrubbery, not half a metre from the edge of your bath. If you need a break from the steamy heat, a small shelter contains a couple of outdoor chairs and a table with cool water and glasses. Although, especially if you visit at the time of year we did, the issue will be an inability to leave the bath after your allotted time, not staying in it. Those travel-weary muscles always need a bit more soaking than you first think. By Andrew Harris, extracted from Southern Expedition as featured in Motorhome World issue 16, September-October 2007.
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