Victoria's newest hot springs open in Metung

If you enjoy boating, fishing, golfing or quaint lakeside towns, then you might already be aware of the unique charm of East Gippsland’s Metung. For the uninitiated, however, there’s now one more (very alluring) reason to visit. 

Metung Hot Springs, which opens this month, offers a sprawling, luxurious adventure in outdoor geothermal bathing, plus a day spa and accommodation.

Guests can experience a variety of naturally heated mineral spring pools, plus cold plunge pools, saunas and massaging mineral showers.

The crowning jewels are the hilltop baths, which are dotted between eucalyptus trees and provide awe-inspiring vistas over Metung’s expansive Lake King. 

Interestingly, this is the second time Metung has had hot springs; the first operated in an informal fashion from the 1920s until the 1990s.

The new Metung Hot Springs is a joint effort by local couple Rachel and Adrian Bromage plus the team behind Peninsula Hot Springs. 

Like Peninsula Hot Springs, there is plenty of bespoke stonework, curved edges and copper accents, yet the backdrop at Metung is radically different.

Here, the undulating landscape encompasses a freshwater lagoon, a saltwater lake and views for days.  

It’s a four-hour drive from Melbourne, so the owners have focused on getting the accommodation right. They call it “glamping”, but the portmanteau for “glamorous camping” doesn’t quite do justice to the luxury safari tents. 

Rooms feature king-sized beds, split-system heating and cooling, coffee machines, super-soft robes, en suite bathrooms and balconies complete with breakfast bars, outdoor bean bags and personal hot-spring bathing barrels.

The “lagoon-side” rooms are, naturally, nestled beside the lagoon (where you might spot a turtle), while the “hillside” rooms come with sweeping views over the property (and a touch more privacy). 

Glamping guests are also treated to a welcome drink and canapes on arrival, gourmet buffet breakfasts at the on-site Country Club and access to the wellness activity of the day – which might be yoga, sound healing or forest therapy.

Golf carts are provided to help accommodation guests traverse the 10-hectare property. 

Treatments can be booked through the day spa, including the venue’s signature massage, Metung Mist, which uses a spa product range specifically designed to conjure the magic of freshly fallen rain. 

Kings Cove Golf Club is 500 metres away from the hot springs site and is one of the most well-regarded nine-hole public golf clubs in the country.

Meals can be enjoyed at Metung Country Club, which has recently been renovated by Metung Hot Springs and has a new chef focused on seasonal, local produce. 

It’s worth driving the five minutes into town to grab dinner by the water at the iconic Metung Hotel, plus you’ll also find a deli,  the Local Metung woodfired pizza place and a Vietnamese bakery. 

There’s also the House of Yoga nearer the town centre, and a boardwalk that runs along Bancroft Bay, where you might catch a glimpse of the rare burrunan dolphin.

Opposite the Metung Yacht Club, you’ll find Legend Rock, a site of significance among the Gunaikurnai traditional owners that appears on the Bataluk Cultural Trail.

If you’re not blessed to have a boat, you can hire one (or a kayak) at the lake, or take a sailing lesson. 

More broadly in the region, you’ll find the Buchan Caves – Victoria’s largest cave system, which is deeply significant to the Gunaikurnai people – and the pristine Ninety Mile Beach.