Talaroo Hot Springs

Talaroo Hot Springs sits on Talaroo Station, between Mount Surprise and Georgetown in the Gulf Savannah of North Queensland, where geothermal water discharges at a scorching 62°C and builds outward into travertine mounds and terraced pools found nowhere else on the continent at this scale. The mineral-laden water supports a self-contained ecosystem of aquatic plants and animals adapted to the extreme heat and chemistry, some found only at this site. The station, covering 31,500 hectares of the upper Einasleigh River catchment, was purchased on behalf of the Ewamian people in 2012 after generations of dispossession following European settlement, and native title was formally determined the following year. Since then the Ewamian Aboriginal Corporation has managed the property as an Indigenous Protected Area, opening purpose-built walking trails and viewing platforms to the public in 2021 so visitors can see the terraces up close without disturbing them — cooler, safe bathing is available in a separate section away from the scalding source pools.