Cunnamulla Hot Springs thermal baths attraction opened in Outback Queensland

The Peninsula Hot Springs Group has announced the opening of a new hot spring wellness destination overlooking the Warrego River at Cunnamulla in western Queensland.

Part of a growing number of hot springs resort in inland Australia, the Cunnamulla Hot Springs complex offers an array of therapeutic activities with guests able to enjoy the benefits of geothermal pools as they relax under the shade of the native trees.

Located 800 kilometres west of Brisbane, the attraction joins 27 existing hot spring destinations in regional Queensland.

Owned by the local Paroo Shire Council, and managed by Peninsula Hot Springs Group, the new locations was designed by Cox Architects.

Explaining the significance of the Cunnamulla Hot Springs, Natalie Flecker, Chair of the Outback Queensland Tourism Association, advised “this just places us really well to welcome those travellers to outback Queensland.

"It's a hot adventure tourism product."

The hot springs of northern NSW and Queensland emerge naturally due to pressure from the Great Artesian Basin with the hot water that bubbles up being mineral-rich with a distinctly ‘eggy’ smell.

With proven health benefits, the act of bathing in geothermic waters can reduce arthritic symptoms, ease muscle tension, improve mental health, sleep, boost circulation and aid in relaxation.

Bathing in these artesian waters is certainly not a new practice, as Jen Silcock, a Research Fellow in Desert Ecology at the University of Queensland explains, stating “it's a revival of a very old tradition.

"In early colonial history, there were a huge number of artesian spas and people did flock to them.

"And they were really important ceremonially (for Indigenous groups) as well. They were meeting places and used like that for millennia."

The $11.7 million Cunnamulla Hot Springs facility is funded by the Queensland and Federal Government under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

Noting the benefits of the attraction, Cunnamulla Mayor Suzette Beresford "It'll have a great flow-on effect for local businesses … and of course it will provide employment opportunities.”

Cunnamulla Hot Springs operator Charles Davidson said the town's remoteness is its selling point, but also its weakness, noting “the biggest challenge out here is going to be the staffing … and accommodation.”

The wellness experience at Cunnamulla Hot Springs features several geothermic free-flowing pools of various temperatures, rich with healing mineral water that is naturally heated by the artesian basin that lies below the facilities.

Images: The Cunnamulla Hot Springs attraction (top and below) with complex as seen from the air (middle). Credit: Cunnamulla Hot Springs.