Moree Artesian Baths

In 1895 a bore sunk at Moree looking for irrigation water struck the Great Artesian Basin and brought up water at around forty degrees, and the town has been bathing in it ever since. The artesian aquatic centre in the town centre combines conventional swimming pools with a set of hot mineral pools at different temperatures, filled from the bore and drained daily, and it has drawn a steady flow of visitors for more than a century, particularly older travellers wintering north. The water is warm, mineral-heavy and slightly sulphurous. Several caravan parks and motels around town have their own artesian pools, and Moree sits amid cotton fields on the Gwydir plains.

What you actually see

• The hot mineral pools - artesian water at bathing temperatures in the town centre.
• The bore history - the 1895 strike that made the town a spa destination.
• The aquatic complex - cool swimming pools alongside the hot ones.
• The cotton plains - the flat irrigated farmland surrounding Moree.

When to go

April to October, when the hot pools are most appealing and the region's climate is mild; this is also when travellers heading north fill the caravan parks. Summer temperatures in Moree regularly exceed thirty-five degrees, which takes the appeal out of a hot bath.

Honest expectations

This is a municipal pool complex rather than a designed spa, functional in appearance. The water smells faintly of minerals and stains fabric. Moree is a long drive from anywhere and the town has its share of social problems, which some visitors notice.

Nearby

The Gwydir wetlands lie west; Narrabri and Mount Kaputar are south.