Talaroo Hot Springs, Queensland
Clouds of steam emerge from the savannah, a telltale sign that you have arrived at the mystical and mineral-rich Talaroo Hot Springs.
In the middle of the north Queensland savannah, hot water bubbles from the earth. Falling as rain on the nearby Newcastle Range 20,000 years ago, the water has only now found its way back to the surface, emerging in clouds of steam and painting the land in colours reminiscent of Rotorua or Yellowstone.
An oasis in the otherwise sparsely wooded landscape, Talaroo Hot Springs has long been a site of great significance to the Ewamian traditional owners. Historically, it has been a shared place, with women coming to give birth in its pools, and wounded warriors and boys initiated at nearby Cawana Lake coming to its mineral-rich waters to heal.
That sense of sharing now continues, with the Ewamian opening the hot springs to visitors in 2021. A year on from its launch, the offerings at the hot springs are already evolving, with two glamping tents – and more in the planning – installed in late June. Set quietly at the edge of Talaroo’s campground, the spacious tents, elevated on timber platforms, bring a simple and serene elegance to a stay at the restorative springs.
Zipping open the door of one of the tents, I’m greeted by a large arrangement of native flowers at the foot of the king-sized bed. Heavy linens provide welcome warmth in the cold outback nights, and the earthy tones of the rugs and linens give the tents a sense of place in the arid landscape. Termite mounds march away to the horizon, and a shaded timber deck looks out into the dense bush encompassing the springs and onto searing sunsets and dazzling night skies.
Though the springs only opened last year, Talaroo has a long history of tourism, having first operated as a health retreat in 1886. By the 1980s, Talaroo Station – the 31,500ha cattle property on which the springs were located – had revived them as a visitor experience, constructing a communal pool into which the 60C-plus spring water was channelled.
Working as a stockman on the station at that time was Ewamian elder Jimmy “JR” Richards, one of the driving forces behind the new tourism venture.
“There’s not many places you get male and female sharing areas,” says Richards. “The springs here are a healing place, a shared place.
“When I do my tours, I want the people to see the country through my eyes. And if they can feel that, then they’re connected to the country. I’m happy if they feel they belong in my country, because I want to share it.”
The hot springs are visited on 90-minute walking tours that loop around Australia’s only mound spring not fed by the artesian basin on a newly constructed boardwalk, peering deep into the gurgling guts of five springs. Around them, orange and yellow streaks, deposited by the minerals in the water, run like brushstrokes over the land.
From the hottest of the springs, bubbles surface like tiny jellyfish, rising from unknown abysses – a research camera was once lowered into this spring, reaching a depth of 5km before it melted.
Below the springs, the water collects in the so-called Foot Soak Pool, where we pause, sitting on the edge of a wooden platform and dangling our bare feet into a 43C pool, slowly turning them medium rare.
The tours end with a swim in the adjoining public pool, which is filled from the springs, but a more immersive way to experience Talaroo’s restorative waters is to book a soak in one of the four nearby private pools.
The 40-minute sessions are in hot-tub-sized pools, and the water temperature is around 37C as I settle in on one of the pool’s basalt boulders. A trio of kangaroos ambles past, and a stand of black tea tree – the trees to which Richards accredits some of Talaroo’s healing qualities – shields me from the sun and wind.
“What happens is when the leaves fall into the water, the oil is extracted from it, and that is good for aching muscles,” he says. “People comment that it’s so relaxing, and a lot of people say they’ve had their best sleep in a long, long time.”
As I wander back to Talaroo’s large visitor centre, just a couple of hundred metres from the old station homestead, evening is approaching. The gum trees are heavy with raucous galahs, the sky is flaring into neon colours, and a fire is being lit. The nightly yarning circle is ready to begin, with Richards joining campers and visitors to continue Talaroo’s tradition of sharing as, beyond the fire, the hot springs slip into darkness and emptiness.
“We don’t go down there at night,” he says. “That’s the time for the old people to rest and enjoy.”
In the know
Talaroo Hot Springs is a four-hour drive inland from Cairns. The springs are open from April to October.
Andrew Bain was a guest of Tourism and Events Queensland.
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