Discover Daylesford’s spa country

There is something special about sinking in to a naturally-heated hot spring and feeling the mineral-rich waters work their magic on your body. A soak in a hot spring helps your blood circulation and super-charges your digestive and detoxifying processes, while the magnesium and potassium in the waters soothes your skin.

The good news is you don’t have to head to Iceland or Japan to experience the healing power of mineral springs. Australia has plenty of its own, the vast majority of which are found in the Daylesford region, where the indigenous Dja Dja Wurrung took advantage of the healing water.

It didn’t take European settlers long to discover the pleasures of the hot springs, and the town of Hepburn became a fashionable destination. Even today, Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa is one of the best places to take the waters. The complex includes not just communal baths and private tubs where you can soak in the mineral-rich waters pumped direct from the thermal springs, but also an outdoor spa pool. Book yourself into one of the steam rooms to enjoy a herbal steam experience, or slather yourself with thermal mud to dial up the healing.

You can also try out the mineral-rich waters at The Spa at Lake House, Daylesford, where some treatments start with a soak in the thermal waters in one of the treatment rooms set amid the treetops. The spa treatments are made using seasonal produce grown at the same farm that produces food for Lake House’s award-winning restaurants. In summer, treatments feature cucumber and peppermint; in winter, expect aromatic pine and eucalypt. To max out the wellbeing, follow up your treatment with a walk around the lake, or a meal at the Lake House’s acclaimed dining room.

If you are in the mood for more wellness, there are plenty of inviting options in the area. At Maiaveda retreat in the pretty town of Kyneton, you can enjoy Ayurvedic therapies such as the deeply relaxing Shirodhara, which involves pouring oil onto the third eye. Feel like you need more than just a single treatment to fix what ails you? Maiaveda also offers one, two and three-day retreats which combine Ayurvedic treatments, yoga and meditation classes.

Then there is Samadhi Retreat & Spa, an exclusive retreat that caters for just four guests at a time. The emphasis here is on giving yourself not just a break but a reset. Its range of programs includes Nurture (designed for those battling stress, it includes a Pranic breathing exercise and a heart healing meditation) and the Wholeness Retreat, designed to help you make positive life changes, during which guests enjoy a wholeness counselling session and an energy balance healing session.

Over at Daylesford Healing Massage centre, you can take in everything from meditation classes, which include soothing crystal bowl sound meditation, to sessions with a reiki master, tarot reader or clairvoyant – or, yes, a masseur.