The other night, I sat and stared at the Southern Cross. Beautiful it was too … and no, not the Southern Cross tattooed on my left arm, which, despite my protestations in Crikey, has taken on something of a racist connotation. No, this Cross was the real deal, directly overhead … and I was in a bath. Yep, a bath.

I was at the Peninsula Hot Springs on the Mornington Peninsula and it was about 8-8.30pm on a Friday night. And it rates as the best (or close to it) 20 bucks I’ve spent in many a day … OK, night.

I’d headed to this beautiful part of Victoria for a weekend of good food and wine and, after a great meal and a couple of glasses of red, my friend and I headed to the springs. Twenty bucks each later, we were bound for the changing rooms. (A cautionary note here if you are shy and retiring: as far as I could see, there are men’s, women’s and family change rooms and I ended up in the family room — well I do have a family, although not with me, and anyway, the locker was there. I was the only bloke getting his kit off while a collection of women and men wandered through. No matter.)

We hit the first pool (one of about 20) where the temperature was 36 degrees or so, an experience made all the more pleasant by the sound of what seemed like a million frogs engaged in choir practice (maybe it was a mating chant — the calming atmosphere of the pools directs thoughts in that direction). There was something ethereal about it.

The cold night air on warm, wet skin was exhilarating as we walked to the next pool where it was 40 degrees. There was steam rising, stars twinkling (although not me), the frogs were still in fine voice and there was a waterfall burbling in the distance.

The pools are filled with thermal mineral waters and, if you believe the blurb, are chock full of health-giving stuff that you normally see in jars in a chemist’s shop. I’m a believer.

After an hour-and-a-half of pool hopping — warmer, hotter, cooler, warmer, hotter … OK you get the drift — we again headed to the change rooms where again I was the only bloke getting naked. In fact I was the only person getting changed. No matter.

By the time we again hit the car, I was aches-and-pain free big time. The place also offers all sorts of healthy spa treatments, private baths, even accommodation.

The details: The Peninsula Hot Springs are open daily 7.30am until 10pm. Or visit a local hot springs near you …