It’s summer in the outback. Things are heating up. So what do you do when it gets hot? Go and sit in a hot artesian pool.
Seriously.
The thermal springs trail in northern NSW/southern Queensland is quite famous. And gets very busy – especially in winter.
But as things worked out, I was travelling in summer. When some of the pools were closed, and some were only opening reduced hours for summer.
Charlotte Plains is one I’ve thought about for a while, but never got to. Because other places were closed, it suddenly jumped to the top of the list.
So I headed out to Charlotte Plains. On a day when it was 33⁰ by 10am.
I arrived, and I was the only one there. Well, apart from the cows but that’s another story. Charlotte Plains is a working cattle station and the artesian water is used not just for the baths, but flows through the station to water the stock.
That means it flows up from the basin, into the pools, and then down the creeks. In an endless flow so no need to treat the water. It’s pure artesian water. And hot. 42⁰ hot.
And I had it all to myself. The baths, the hot pool, the old tub, the creek to float down, the waterfalls to sit under. They were all mine.
Reader – I can tell you that even though you miss out on some things, there are definite advantages to travelling in the off season.
I sat in the bath for over an hour. Topped it up once when it started to cool down. And of course, did all my Instagram shots. After all, it’s a very popular bath spot on Instagram.
Then I was starting to feel a bit dehydrated, so I had to get out to drink some water. Despite sitting in water, the heat does tend to dehydrate you, as I found out when I went to Dalhousie Springs the first time.
After relaxing for a while, it was time to get back into one of the pools. I decided to try to get close to the waterfall where the water is flowing up from the GAB and straight into the pool.
There are 3 outlets coming up through the same pipe, at different flow rates. I decided to try the one with the middle pressure rate. The one falling in front of the baths and into a creek with a nice sandy bottom.
If you can take the heat (it’s over 40⁰) and the noise (it’s dropping from 3-4 metres), it is fabulous. Falling straight on my shoulders was the best massage. One with heat, which is what you usually miss out on if you just stand under a waterfall.
All up I spent 4 days at Charlotte Plains and could have stayed longer. I tried out different baths, all the waterfalls, and the various creeks and pools. My favourite was the hot pool, with the strongest waterfall. That was hot! It’s also where I got up early one morning and watched the Wallabies play (and lose), while also watching the sunrise.
If you have to watch the wallabies lose, you might as well do it from a thermal pool.
And it’s where I had a midnight swim just staring at the stars.
For four days I had the place virtually to myself.
The first day 5 other people came in the afternoon for a bath & a drink at the bar, but 4 of them were staying at the shearers quarters kilometres away. One other solo woman traveller camped by the creek and she left early the next morning.
The second day one other couple came in the late afternoon, and left again early the next morning.
The third day was really busy. 3 couples came in the afternoon and camped by the creek. 1 left early the next morning and the other two went out exploring the station.
Then I had it to myself.
So every day, all day, I had the place to myself. I got to sit in the pools and baths naked and not worry about anybody else coming along. The only problem was that at this time of year it does get hot during the day. Too hot to sit in a 42 ⁰+ pool in the midday sun. Luckily there are some baths in the shade you can sit in. And I did.
If I was there in the height of the season, when they get over 100 cars a day through there my experience would have been different. But I wasn’t. I had it to myself and loved every minute.
I originally planned to spend 2 days there, but extended for two more. I could have stayed longer but there are other places to check out.
