Murray Sunset National Park camping at Pink Lakes

After camping on the Murray River near Mildura we made the short drive down through Ouyen (stopping at their awesome bakery) & then out to the Murray Sunset National Park to Pink Lakes turning off at Linga. We arrived about midday to the camping ground at Lake Crosbie & had the place to ourselves. We drove around & found the best campsite & set up the trailer right on the edge of Lake Crosbie, a very large salt lake. 

Another free campsite, wow we still can't believe it, this one had a toilet & about 12 campsites to choose from & even a tap with untreated rainwater. It's hard to describe this campsite, so I will let the photos do the talking, it is stunningly beautiful and yes the lakes are pink!! 

Because we arrived so early we decide to go for a drive that afternoon. We went up towards Mount Crosbie (there is also another campground there, it's okay but not as nice as the one on the lake). The area is dominated by small scrub & sandy hills, we ended up just doing a 30km loop road as it was all a bit same same after a while. We then went back out of the park to collect some fire weird for the night & by the time we got back to our campsite we had one neighbour for the night. 

We cooked up a piece of roast beef for dinner & watched the sunset over the lake. The silence at the lake was quite eerie. There wasn't even any insect noise. It felt like there was a ringing in your ears it was so so quiet. We sat around the campfire watching the stars until it finally got to cold & we went to bed. 

The next morning it was still pretty cold, there was some cloud cover & a nippy breeze. We decide to go for a walk along the lake to warm up. We walked for about 2 hours checking out the scenery, the birds & weird plants & moss that grow around the salt lake. 

When we got back we did a short drive around the lakes that explains the history of the place. It is very interesting. For many years they harvested the salt from the lakes & exported it all over Australia. Initially it started with shovels & wheelbarrows, then moving onto horses, camels, an ill-fated tram line & then trucks. It must of been a hard life in those first years as they moved all the salt in the summer months. The heat, glare & thirst must of been unbearable. There is lots of old machinery, log ramps & salt stockpiles around the lakes.  Definitely worth a look. And while we are on the information session!! The reason the salt in the lakes is pink is because only one type of red algae can live in that harsh of conditions & they are pink in colour due to beta carotene. The salt water in the lakes is 800 times saltier than sea water, WOW.

It was an awesome place to visit.  I also got to get some more photos of some Mallee ringnecks as well. We decided 2 nights was enough though, so it was then time to head to Bordertown to visit my Grandma for one more stop before we set off to Port Augusta.