Four hands are far better than two when it comes to Auroral relaxing double massage
Indigenous ingredients and healing techniques inspired the natural spa products in the Li'Tya range.
SPAS WILL BE THE PERSONAL TRAINERS OF THIS NEW CENTURY
- SUZANNE DAWSON
A great spa should excite our senses and make us feel special, in both a physical and emotional way. Its luxurious pampering and healing treatments will be offered in a safe, nurturing environment and while it does not need to dazzle us with design and decor, it should be welcoming, sparkling clean, comfortable and inviting. Spas release you from the trappings of your ordinary image of yourself. A great spa will rub your mind, body and soul the right way.
The Australian spa is sophisticated yet down to earth, energised and vital, life enriching and yet still accessible. With the inspired guidance of skilled professionals and a heavenly spa environment designed to delight our senses and meet our every need, we have the blessed opportunity to experience the kind of pleasure, relaxation and renewal we may not have known existed. A sublime spa experience can unlock an energy deep within you and facilitate personal change and self-discovery. It can provide balance and unleash our body's natural ability to heal itself. A spa visit can give you the time and space to solve a previously intractable problem or soothe the effects of some of life's savagery. In this light the question becomes-can we afford not to visit a spa regularly? No wonder new spas, each individually wonderful and unique, are appearing faster than we can visit them. Happy spa-ing and remember, there will always be a new spa treatment to experience somewhere in Australia that is worth travelling to. Enjoy!
The Vichy shower bed at Daintree Eco Lodge, carved into the shape of a leaf from the ylang ylang tree that grows in the surrounding rainforest.
At the beach in Palm Cove outside Espa in Queensland.
RARE PLANTS THAT CAN ONLY SURVIVE IN HIGHLY OXYGENATED ENVIRONMENTS THRIVE HERE
Daintree Eco Lodge and Spa, Far North Queensland
With the world's oldest living rainforest providing a dramatic and spiritually charged backdrop, complete with natural special effects such as soft, filtered daylight and pure, oxygen-rich air, your spa experience here begins long before you peruse the treatment menu.
At the heart of this environmental miracle known as the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area-where jungle clad mountains really do touch the blue coral sea-is a 12-hectare property whose spa is designed to complement activities enjoyed in the region. A massage after bushwalking, a body wrap to hydrate and soothe after a day on the reef, or a tropical rain Vichy shower on the timber wetbed carved in the shape of an ylang ylang leaf, are offered by therapists. Although you'd be hard pressed to remain stressed for long in this soothing environment, this spa also does a lot of work in stress management.
Working closely with the local Aboriginal community, the Ku Ku Yalangi tribe, the lodge offers cultural and educational interaction through art, history, music and guided walks. Particularly special is a visit to a secluded waterfall, a sacred site where Aboriginal women were known to gather medicinal plants and bathe. Rare plants that can only survive in highly oxygenated environments thrive here. Not surprisingly, the site is said to be rich in healing energy. The signature treatment at this award-winning spa is called Walbui-Walbul, meaning "butterfly." An experience of contrasting sensations, it begins with a warm oil and desert salt exfoliation, followed by a red ochre mud wrap and Milkanga Kaday head treatment, finishing with the healing waters of the rain showers and a soothing massage to unite your spirit with the blue skies. They liken this treatment to the brilliant transition of a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly. Silken skin, environment-induced euphoria and perhaps the whisper of an ancient mystery are also guaranteed.
Guest suites, resembling tree houses, are nestled within the rainforest canopy.
The environment and its restorative qualities are the inspiration behind Daintree Eco Lodge. Exotically remote but easily accessible, this family owned and managed lodge provides 15 luxurious and private tree houses, some with balcony spa baths. The symphonic chorus of generally unseen but heard frogs, birds and insects renders pan-flute COs redundant. The rain, the forest and its everyday natural life were the inspiration for the spa's design, and water, which flows from the waterfall to the lodge and spa, is harnessed for drinking and for spa treatments.
To complement the spa experience, classes are offered in Ki meditation and yoga. Ki is derived from the principles of Japanese Aikido. It focuses on achieving harmony and direct physical energy with the mind, through a combination of basic breathing exercises, correct posture, true relaxation and meditation. Casual visitors and guests alike are invited to try it out.
With its rainforest location, the Daintree Eco Lodge and Spa promises to be the ultimate Far North Queensland restorative and indulgent experience. Exotic tropical flowers and fruit thrive in the gardens surrounding this tropical guesthouse and spa, located approximately 90 minutes' drive north of Cairns International Airport.
A soothing massage in a tropical rainforest is pure bliss.
AN AURA OF ABUNDANCE, SERENITY AND FERTILITY PERMEATES THIS SPA
Healing Waters Spa, Silky Oaks Lodge, Far North Queensland
Cocooned within the vibrant, lush Daintree Rainforest, a landscape that resonates with ancient ceremonies and whispers of sacred healings, this spa takes the concept of "communing with nature" to a special level.
The spiritually-charged energies of the rainforest were revered by the Aborigines of the Mossman Gorge region, who gathered medicinal plants here and bathed in the river which flows below Silky Oaks Lodge. Inspired by traditional, indigenous wisdom and the life-renewing qualities of the Mossman River, known as "the Healing Waters" by local Aboriginal people, an aura of abundance, serenity and fertility permeates this spa.
Nesting in the treetops above the river and connected by a maze of boardwalks and pathways through the enveloping vegetation, the magical beauty and natural wonders surrounding the tree house guest suites and spa hardly seem real, more like the creation of special