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50 Top Wellness Destinations: Oceania Text by Husna Haq Photo by Polynesian Spa
A guest gets a body polish treatment at the Polynesian Spa in New Zealand.
Healing Dreams Retreat (Tasmania, Australia) The Spa: Located on unspoiled Flinders Island, this retreat, surrounded by 40,000 acres (16,187 hectares) of wilderness, offers a well-rounded menu of wellness activities taking advantage of the island's spectacular surroundings. Treatments: Bliss out with yoga (Ashtanga, Iyengar); massage (foot, Shiatsu); and nature-immersion workshops; then relax in a sauna, yurt, or meditation aerie. Local Sights: Explore the island's bush, beaches, and national parks.
Flinders Island, Tasmania, Australia 7255 (35-minute flight from Launceston, Tasmania) Tel. +61 3 6359 4588
Salus Spa at Lake House Hotel (Australia) The Spa: This 33-room homestead on the shores of Lake Daylesford is surrounded by acres of manicured gardens, waterfalls, and bushwalking trails. Treatments: Climb into a private tree house for a hot mineral water soak with a view, or try vichy baths, hydrotherapy, facials, wraps, and massages. Local Sights: Enjoy boating on the lake and winery and garden tours, or head into town for artists' galleries and historical tours.
King Street Daylesford, Victoria, Australia 3460 Tel. +61 3 5348 3329
Silky Oaks Lodge and Healing Waters Spa (Australia) The Spa: Guests at this rain forest retreat stay in tropical tree houses in Daintree Rainforest National Park on the Mossman River Gorge. Treatments: Scrubs, facials, massages, and baths are spiked with local ingredients and influenced by indigenous traditions. Best bets: Mapi mud wrap, Marni Yirri facial, and rhythmic Kodo massage. Local Sights: Visit pristine Daintree National Park, a World Heritage site, Cape Tribulation, and Myall Beach.
52 miles (83 kilometers) north of Cairns, Australia Tel. +61 2 8296 8010
Le Taha'a Private Island and Manea Spa (French Polynesia) The Spa: Sixty villas and bungalows on stilts sprawl the beach and coral reef of Taha'a, an unspoiled paradise in the South Pacific. Treatments: At Manea Spa, local ingredients are key. Try taurumi, a traditional Polynesian massage using Tahitian gardenia, vanilla, sandalwood, and umuhei oils. Skin-softening grapefruit, pineapple, and banana-coconut body scrubs are good enough to eat. Local Sights: Between treatments, kayak, windsurf, or snorkel in turquoise seas.
Taha'a Road, Patio, French Polynesia 98733 Tel. 800 735 2478
Polynesian Spa (New Zealand) The Spa: Visitors come to this thermal spa on the shore of Lake Rotorua for stress relief, cures, and romance. Treatments: Relax in some 26 hot mineral spring pools, including four Japanese Rotem Buro pools, each at different temperatures. Submit to a mud-and-ginger body wrap for pure indulgence. Local Sights: Rotorua is a geothermal hot spot burbling with crater lakes, geysers, and volcanic fields.
Lakefront, Hinemoa St. Rotorua, New Zealand Tel. +64 7 348 1328; 0508 765 977 within New Zealand
