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Published May 4th 2023
A relaxing soak at the end of the Great Ocean Road
Deep Blue Hot Springs, is a thermal bathing sanctuary in Warrnambool at the end of the Great Ocean Road. A great destination for anyone who enjoys immersing themselves in relaxing hot water.
The pools at Deep Blue Hot Springs are in an area similar in shape to a sports field with all 15 pools within metres of each other. Pools offer access with either a rail or manageable steps. This is in contrast to the famous Peninsula Hot Springs which is becoming quite spread out.
All pools at Deep Blue are fed from natural geothermal waters 850 meters below the earth's surface --temperatures range from 36-42 degrees.
Geothermal water's health benefits include calming the nervous system, reducing blood pressure, easing muscle pain and sore joints, and encouraging sleep.
I was enamoured with the complex after I entered the first pool where laying back triggered a jet of water with aromatherapy -- mood-enhancing notes of grapefruit, orange and lavender.
Then it was about moving between pools in any order. The pools range from hydrotherapy, a foot spa with heated seating, to mood-enhancing sensory caves. Water, water everywhere. In some, you trace your fingers over walls trickling with water in others you walk under waterfalls.
All the pools are outside but even if it rained it would be joyful to shelter in one of the water filled-caves or to experience the plopping sounds of raindrops while soaking up to one's neck in blissful hot water.
All the experiences are sensory. The pools in man-made caves offer colour therapy and subtle lighting and one has glow worm-like pricks of light that must look amazing during the adults-only evening sessions.
There is the sound of ambient music or gurgling water bubbling up from beneath. The grounds have basalt stones so you can bask in the sun in a garden of jasmine, lavender, and rosemary. A Nourish Dome in the middle of the garden offers healthy food and hydration.
My two-hour session was in the outdoor public Hot Springs Sanctuary section of the complex. I did not try the indoor offerings that include halotherapy salt rooms -- good for respiratory problems, a sauna, a bathhouse, and a range of spa treatment rooms.
