After a few days of driving in the dust of the NSW outback, there’s nothing like a hot bore bath to wash away the red stuff. Check out Charlotte Plains station…!
WORDS AND IMAGES BY BEN CARCELLER
TRAVEL: QUEENSLAND
Around 40km East of Cunnamulla, on the Balonne Highway, you’ll find a sign that tells you to “Turn Baaack for a hot bath”.
This is one of the two entrances to Charlotte Plains station, a working Sheep Station in Outback QLD. The station features something not found on most station stays – a piping hot Artesian bore bath. A series of bathtubs running along a bore drain, pipe natural hot water in for you to sit back and relax. Water comes out of the 2 main pipes that feed the system at around 42 degrees Celcius. You’re able to sit in the water of the natural bore drain area, in a large tub in the centre of the natural area, or in one of the many steel bathtubs situated all along the bore drain. Sitting in one of the baths after the sun has gone down and watching the billions of stars above is a particularly special experience.
To get there, you can travel from Cunnamulla 45km East along the Balonne Highway, or out of St George and head 135km West through Bollon, which has a great little pub as a bonus! There’s a dry weather access road into the station, however, in wet weather, the access road closer to Cunnamulla is more suitable, if a little longer. Both roads are suitable for camper trailers and semi off-road caravans in the right conditions. Powered sites are available at the shearer’s campsite, cabins and the shearer’s quarters are also available but the best spot is the unpowered sites at the bore bath, by far.
There’s no mobile phone service at Charlotte Plains but you can purchase WiFi from the shed at the bore bath if you need to make contact with the outside world, but once you’re there you might find you don’t want to.
Robyn and her family run the station, and Robyn runs tours of the property in a minibus on most days, giving you the history of the property and showing you some of the buildings around the place. There are also yabby catching sessions and camel spotting to be done. Do yourself a favour and set aside a week to go explore this hidden gem.
Bookings can be made online at charlotteplains.com.au
