IN THE WELLNESS ZONE

The Great Ocean Road Region is a mecca for health and wellness devotees. Here, you’ll find sanctuary, relaxation and the mind space to focus on life’s simple pleasures. Come fill your lungs with fresh salty air and enrich your spirit with nature. Rejuvenate and find yourself in communities where wellness is central to lifestyle.

Leave life’s busyness and worries behind and practice the gift of self love. Immerse in the therapeutic waters of a natural hot spring, surrender to a relaxation massage or have it all with a full-day pamper session at one of our coastal village day spas.

IN NEED OF SERIOUS NURTURING? FIND REFUGE IN A MULTI-DAY RETREAT IN A NATURAL-BASED BUSHLAND, CLIFFTOP OR RURAL SETTING.

• Kick off your Great Ocean Road journey in the right frame of mind. Head to the unique ‘wet room’ at One Spa at RACV Torquay Resort. Live out your steam dreams in the thermal stone room, then submerge in the stress-relieving heated spa and before a quick dip in the plunge pool.

• Gather your pals for a 3-day rejuvenation getaway with Revitalise Escapes. Staying at Anglesea’s Great Ocean Road Resort, your itinerary includes nurturing yoga and meditation sessions, morning mindfulness beach walks, massages, sound healing tai chi, forest bathing, rainforest walks, journal time and more.

• Go solo on a secluded beach for your own private yoga practice, buddy-up with like-minded travellers or join one of the local practices offering beach yoga classes. With many qualified instructors calling the region home, it’s not hard to find a teacher who fits the bill.

• For a range of experiences, book in a treatment at Lux Spa in Anglesea or its brand new little sister, Indie Spa in Aireys Inlet, which features a bathhouse, a sparkling magnesium pool and a muddy rasul.

• Make a day of it! Book a Wreck and Relax Shipwreck & Hot Springs tour with Warrnambool Tours. Sit back and be chauffeured along the rugged Shipwreck Coast, taking in stunning views and old maritime yarns along the way. Then spend the afternoon at Deep Blue Hot Springs & Spa (left), immersing yourself in the sanctuary of geothermal rockpools, sensory caves and cleansing waterfalls. Sigh.