The artesian pools trail in northern NSW and southern/central Queensland is becoming very popular. For very good reason.
The water comes up from the Great Artesian Basin (remember that from social studies classes in primary school?) and can be very hot. Many outback towns use it as their main water supply.
Last time I looked there were 67 pools you could go to. I didn’t have time to do them all, so chose some within an easy drive of each other so I could actually relax and enjoy each one.
So which were the best, and worst?
Charlotte Plains (5 stars)
Cost : $30/night for one person in an unpowered site by the creek. The best camping spots! Day visits $18/adult or $12/child.
Open : 24 hours
At Charlotte Plains you can camp right next to the creek, the baths and the pools, which means you can easily go in an out during the day and night. It is bliss. Particularly in the off season when you’re not sharing the pools, nor waiting to use baths.
The water is hot. 42o. The closer you get to the waterfalls the hotter the water is. The pools at Charlotte Plains were the hottest of all those I visited. There are different pools and creeks, and baths along the creek so you have different places to soak.
The only bad thing about Charlotte Plains was the lack of shade over the pools and most of the baths. That’s probably good in winter, but I was there in summer and it was very hot. But as there was nobody else around it was easy to just go a bit further down the creek and use the baths in the shade.
I sat in the pool at 5am one morning watching the Wallabies play (and lose), and watching the sunrise. While it’s never easy to watch the Wallabies lose, sitting in that pool, with champagne, made up for the disappointment.
My favourite by a long way, but I don’t know if I would feel the same if there were 100 or more other cars around.
Goodooga (4 stars)
Cost : Free
Open : 24 hours
When I was at Lightning Ridge one of the locals told me that Goodooga wasn’t really worth visiting, there was nothing there. I’ve said before, if I had a dollar for every time somebody said that about a place I’d be able to fund my travels.
I really liked Goodooga.
The pool is on the hot side of warm (or is that the warm end of hot?). It’s surrounded by grass (artificial, but it looks and feels good), with a barbecue area and seats by the pool. And there are sail cloths over the pool to give you some shade. Very important in this weather, and what might even push this to 4 ½ stars.
There are even exercise stations by the pool if you’re feeling particularly energetic.
You can also camp right next to the pool meaning you can go in and out at will, including in the middle of the night. The camping is on what looks like asphalt, but you can get a tent peg in it if you have to peg down an awning or tent, which I did when the wind got up a bit. The outlook from the camping area is very nice, with lots of wide open spaces (and cows, though that’s another story). I sat at my campsite and watched the sun go down behind the trees. Then lay in my roof top tent watching the sunrise the next morning.
And there’s a nice wetland next to the pool which I assume is where the water drains from the pool to. There’s a lot of birdlife– as there is at all the pools. Be prepared to wake up early!
The pool is a bit out of town, but there’s not much in Goodooga anyway. It’s a great place to relax and do nothing except unwind.
Moree (Gwydir Caravan Park & Thermal Pool Complex) (4 stars)
Cost : $40/night for a camping spot (powered only, there are no unpowered sites). There are also cabins and motel style rooms. Once there the pools are free for park guests
Open : 7am – 10pm
The pool complex at the Gwydir Caravan Park complex is beautiful. It is landscaped with trees providing natural shade, and there are shade roofs over the pools. They provide beach lounges to sit back in when you’re not in the water, and picnic tables and chairs.
There are 4 thermal pools at various temperatures (34⁰, 35⁰, 37⁰ and 39⁰). The 34 and 35⁰ pools also have waterfall jets you can stand under.
There is also a cool larger swimming pool.
It’s easy to sit there all day just going from one pool to another, and lounging around reading between times. Or going back to your campsite for lunch or a rest and then back to the pools.
It’s a very popular place and people come from all over just to stay there. Even though there were quite a few people staying there while I was there the pools never felt crowded.
So why only 4 stars?
Well, I wasn’t that impressed with the caravan park itself. And all I can say is that it’s a “vibe” thing.
The park has everything you want in a caravan park. Enough amenities blocks, close enough that you don’t need to walk very far to them, a camp kitchen, a television room, laundries, even a café.
And it’s within easy walking distance of a tavern, which is very nice and a great place for a meal, as long as you’re not vegetarian.
But when I arrived at the caravan park the woman checking people in was on the rude side of abrupt. I asked for an unpowered site and her response was “I can’t help you with that”. I turned and started walking out before she then said “We only have $40 sites and you can plug in or not.”
After checking in she gave me an information sheet with a map of the park, and log in details for the wifi, though, as she said, “the wifi is a bit hit and miss”. I’d say that was an overestimation of its usefulness. There was a lot more miss than hit. When I did need to log into the wifi I had to go and sit next to the office for it to be any good at all.
My camping site itself, while on grass and actually quite spacious, had an emergency fire hose in the middle of the drive in and an open drainage pipe at the other end, meaning I was restricted in how I could set up. While I was there somebody came in to the site next to me, which was very large, and set up in such a way that their car was parked right next to the ladder from my roof top tent. I couldn’t climb up or down without brushing past their car. I know that’s not the fault of the caravan park, but it did add to that “vibe” thing.
I met some lovely people at Moree, and sat with them at the picnic shelter outside their cabin during a thunderstorm. We drank wine, chatted and laughed, and watched the lightning. And all jumped at a very loud clap of thunder. We did get a bit wet and bedraggled, but it was a lot of fun. I do love a good thunderstorm.
The thermal pools at the aquatic centre were being renovated, so I didn’t try them out.
Pilliga (3.5 stars)
Cost : Free to use the pool. Camping is $7/night
Open : 24 hours
“This is the best one” people at Pilliga told me when I said I was going around to a few thermal pools testing them out.
There are some great things about the pool at Pilliga. It’s open 24 hours and you can camp right next to it, meaning you can go in and out of the pool at will. I watched the sunrise and the sunset from the pool, and sat in there at night looking at the stars. It was magic.
The pool itself is about 38⁰ and has a roof over it, so it is shaded. Very important in the heat of the day, and the water temperature means you can stay in for longer than the other, hotter, pools. There are picnic tables and barbecues by the pool, and the camping area has a lovely outlook over a wetland and creek.
There were cows and horses in the paddock next to the camping area when I was there. Very demanding cows and horses, though, again, that’s another story.
There was a lovely short walk along the creek, with lots of bush tucker to spot. An easy 1.5k walk into town, again along the creek, and lots of animal and bird life to watch. Including more cows, and horses (again – another story).
BUT, the pool itself isn’t that great.
The inlet pipe is above the water level, so you can stand under it to massage your back and shoulders, which is great. But the pool is quite small, and unlike all the other pools there are no places in the pool to sit. With nowhere to sit, people would stand around in the middle of the pool, making it feel crowded, even though it was the off season and there weren’t that many people there.
The bottom of the pool is also quite slippery, which is both a good and bath thing. It was great entertainment watching people sliding along the bottom as they tried to walk to or from the steps. It seems it didn’t occur to many people that they could swim!
But, I also became the entertainment when I tried to do the same thing. It certainly helps to have a sense of humour about yourself.
Mungindie (3.5 stars)
Cost : $5
Open : 9am – 2pm / 3pm – 6pm
Another one that’s part of a complex. There’s the hot artesian pool, 41⁰, and a cold swimming pool. The area is grassed, with picnic benches and shade cloth, though the pools are in the sun.
The hot pool has spa outlets.
I sat in the hot pool for a while, then walked over and jumped into the cold pool, then lay in the shade reading until I was ready to do it again. I stayed for around 2 hours just doing this. Being able to jump in the cold pool means you can stay longer in the hot pool.
There is no camping nearby, so it’s not possible to just walk between your campsite and the pool. I camped by the river in a free camp spot, which was beautiful, and I even had a campfire.
While I’ve given this the same rating as Pillaga, I’ve put it below on the table due to not being able to camp near the pool, and the restricted access hours.
Lightning Ridge (3 stars)
Cost : Free
Open : 24 hours. Closed 10-12 Monday/Wednesday/Friday for cleaning
Lightning Ridge, who knew?!
I don’t know what I was expecting from Lightning Ridge, but it wasn’t what I got. It is seriously one of the friendliest places I’ve been and probably worth a blog on its own. Though as this is about the thermal pools I will stick to that here.
The pool is away from the town centre, and the closest caravan park is also the most expensive. It’s the only one within walking distance.
The pool itself is hot, 40⁰, and very relaxing. It’s hot enough that wherever else I went people would use Lightning Ridge as the barometer to measure the temperature of other pools. It’s also large enough so that you don’t feel like it’s crowded, although admittedly I was there in the off season so it wasn’t actually crowded anyway.
Locals do use the pool and I met and chatted with a few of them when I was there. I got the inside info about the best places to buy opals and where to go. It was great.
The downside of this one is that the pool is surrounded by concrete and there’s no shade. Sitting in the hot pool, in the hot sun, gets a bit much. Luckily I did get some cloud cover while I was there which made it much more enjoyable. I’m sure it’s much better in winter.
The pool is around 1.5m deep with stairs around the sides to sit on when the heat of the water gets too much.
Sitting on the steps or on the edge of the pool watching the welcome swallows swooping the pool and flying around is magic. Though whenever I got the phone out to try to video them they magically disappeared. There’s a reason I’m not a bird photographer.
St George (zero stars)
Cost $8 to use the artesian pool, free if you only use the other pools in the complex.
Another one operating on summer time of 6-10am and 3-7pm in summer.
The nearest camping/caravan park is 750m away. An easy walk but then you have to pay every time you go to the pool.
I really enjoyed my time in St George. I did a river cruise and discovered a surprisingly good winery, at least if you drink sauvignon blanc and bubbles. I didn’t try the reds. I did buy wine, and I had a great breakfast of sparkling wine, coffee and scones.
This is an artesian pool within the swimming complex. It’s tepid and to me didn’t even feel like an artesian pool. While I was there they were giving children’s swimming lessons in the pool. That’s how cool it is.
I’d go back for the winery, but I wouldn’t revisit just for the pool.
