Bathing Under the Stars: Why an Outdoor Bath in Nature Feels So Good

A stone bathtub with an increidble view

There's something quite extraordinary about taking a bath outside. We've enjoyed the privilege of dozens of baths across our three tents. It's an integral experience of a Serenity Gully stay.

I'm talking about sinking into beautiful warm water with nothing between you and the sky. Feeling cool evening air on your face and shoulders. Hearing birds settling into the trees for the evening. Watching the last of the light disappear behind the hills or over the valley, as the surrounding jarrah forest turns red with the last of the sun's rays. Then you look up and realise there's no ceiling as the stars begin to twinkle above you.

At Serenity Gully, our outdoor stone baths are the experiences our guests talk about most. Some people tell us that the bath was one of the reasons they booked. Others discover the delight when they get here and then tell us afterwards that they spent far more time in the bath than they’d planned. I completely understand why.

You’re not looking at nature. You’re bathing in it

We spend so much of our lives experiencing the outside world from inside. We look at a beautiful view through a window. We watch rain from behind glass. We turn on nature documentaries while sitting on the couch. Even when we go away somewhere beautiful, we often admire the landscape from the comfort of a room, a train or a car.

An outdoor bath changes that.

There’s no glass between you and the forest. You feel the temperature of the air on your skin. You notice the breeze. You hear the rustling of leaves and the kookaburras calling to each other across the valley. The scents are different after rain. Summer smells different. Flowers blooming colours the the landscape The light changes constantly. Occasionally a kangaroo hops into view or our famous sheep meander past, baa-ing as they go.

You’re not observing the landscape anymore. For a little while, you’re part of it. And there’s something about being surrounded by warm water at the same time that makes you want to stay there.

The forest doesn’t ask anything of you but to experience the peace

One of the things I’ve noticed after years of welcoming guests to Serenity Gully is just how tired people can be when they arrive. Not necessarily physically tired... life tired. We know that feeling well ourselves, thus why we created Serenity Gully.

Phones. Work. Children. Traffic. Appointments. Notifications. Decisions. The constant feeling that there’s something else you should be doing.

Then they arrive here.

There isn’t really much you’re supposed to do at Serenity Gully. You can walk along our beautiful trails. You can read. You can light the fireplace. Toast marshmallows over your own private firepit while sipping mulled wine. You can make coffee or enjoy a slow brewed tea from Tiny Tea Shop using our choice of tea leaves. You can watch kangaroos hop by, watch the sheep meander, the birds, the slow moving clouds. You can climb into the bath and soak, eyes closed, taking in the forest sounds.

Or you can do absolutely nothing.

It turns out there is some science behind why being surrounded by nature can feel so restorative. Research examining exposure to natural environments has found associations with lower perceived stress and changes in physiological measures of stress. Other research has looked at the effects of natural soundscapes, including birdsong and flowing water, and their potential role in stress recovery.

Perhaps we don’t need a scientific paper to tell us that listening to birds is nicer than listening to traffic.

I do love knowing though that the feeling so many of our guests describe isn’t entirely in our imaginations.

Sunset from Kaarta Tent

Then there’s beauty...

This is something I find particularly fascinating. Can simply looking at something beautiful make us feel better?

Research suggests it may. Studies examining our emotional responses to beautiful natural environments have found links between engaging with natural beauty and psychological wellbeing. I think there’s a difference between glancing at a lovely view and having enough time to really take it all in. From a bath, you do, especially a Serenity Gully bath. You start noticing things.

The way the light catches the tops of the trees. Mist slowly moving through the valley. A wedge-tailed eagle circling overhead. The colours of the sky changing as the sun goes down. Nothing is demanding your attention, so your attention begins wandering towards things you might ordinarily miss.

Morning baths are completely different

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Everyone talks about bathing under the stars, and it is wonderful. But I have a soft spot for the mornings even if it means getting up at 5am in winter; it's worth it. The forest wakes early. The birds begin before you do. On cooler mornings, mist settles into the valley below the tents and slowly shift as the sun comes up. Sometimes, it surrounds you, so you find yourself bathing in a cloud.

Imagine stepping out into that crisp morning air and lowering yourself into a steaming stone bath. Warm water. Cool air. Birdsong. Mist.

No traffic. No emails. No need to be anywhere.

Then eventually you climb out, wrap yourself in a robe, luxury Egyptian cotton that we supply, and make that first coffee of the morning. There are worse ways to start a day.

And perhaps you actually talk to each other

There’s another part of the outdoor bath experience that I don’t think gets talked about enough. You’re not doing anything. There’s no television to watch. You’re not both looking at your phones. You’re not deciding where you need to go next. You’re just there together.

We’ve always wanted Serenity Gully to be a place where couples have the chance to reconnect, because sometimes what a relationship needs isn’t another activity. It’s the absence of activity. Time to talk about ridiculous things. Important things. Things you’ve somehow never had time to finish talking about. Or to say nothing at all. Sitting together in warm water, looking across hundreds of acres of forest, is a surprisingly lovely way to remember that you actually quite like one another.

When the stars come out at Serenity Gully

You won't believe the night skie

Then there are the nights...

Once you get away from the lights of the city, you remember just how enormous the night sky is. There is something slightly humbling about lying back in warm water and looking up at all of that.

Depending on the season, there might be a fire glowing nearby. The temperature drops. The forest becomes darker and quieter, although never completely quiet. And you stay in the bath for another ten minutes. Then another ten. And probably another ten after that.

You empty the cooling water and refill with hot. No need to worry about wasting water. We have our own spring-fed dam from which we pump the water and treat it before it flows from our taps. When you empty the bath, the water drains into our septic tanks and then ultimately back into the land. That’s circularity at its best.

Why an Outdoor Bath in Nature Feels So Different

When we created Serenity Gully, our outdoor baths in nature weren’t intended simply to be a luxury feature that looked beautiful in photographs. Although, they certainly fit the photogenic bill.

We wanted our guests to experience the landscape. To feel the evening air. To hear the forest waking in the morning. To watch mist settle into the valley. To look at a sky full of stars, and wonder. And occasionally to do absolutely nothing except sit in warm water beside someone they love and look at something beautiful.

Perhaps that’s why people remember the baths so much.

The bath itself is lovely.

But I suspect what they’re really remembering is how they felt while they were in it, like they’re experiencing a magic only nature can deliver. Explore our luxury accommodation.

Woora tent dusted by dusk!