Lake Tyrrell Wildlife Reserve, Victoria

Marton Bodonyi

26 Jul 2020 · Updated 27 Oct 2020

FOR Close to the highway, Scenic break from driving, incredible landscapes, fun light-offroading.
AGAINST No shelter, no facilities for picnic, no camping, no toilets.

Along the Calder Highway between Bendigo and Mildura lies Lake Tyrrell Wildlife Reserve, a beautiful pink salt lake and perfect introduction to the Mallee region of north-west Victoria.

The reserve itself is only a 10 minute detour off the highway along Baileys Rd, and as you enter there is a look-out and visitors information board that introduces you to the lake ahead. Two things really stood out for us — the vast, flat empty spaces and the flora. The trees and shrubs in this region of Australia makes you feel like you’re on a different planet. The way they grow, adapting to their harsh environment, makes for some really eery landscapes.

We embarked on a morning walk along the lake at ten-thirty and the sound was incredible. As the salt crunched beneath our feet the wind came and blew away the loosened pieces behind us to create an immersive soundscape that threw us into the present moment.

The roads are pretty rough, but manageable

The dirt track that circles the lake

No camping is permitted and visitors aren’t permitted to drive on the salt lake itself however there’s a fantastic entry-level 4WD track that’s a lot of fun even in a soft roader like our X-Trail.

Drive far enough north along the edge of the lake and you’ll reach the Cheetham Salt Works. From here we took Cheetham Salt rd back to the Calder and continued our journey towards Mildura.

Lake Tyrrell is a worthy stop over along the Calder Highway and was our favourite salt lake experience. It’s wild, it’s beautiful, and very accessible. Altogether we spent an hour and twenty-minutes driving North from the Baileys Rd entrance to the Cheetham Salt Rd exit with plenty of stops along the way. I wouldn’t stay here too long as there’s no shelter from the sun but as a quick departure from the highway into a different landscape I highly recommend it.

You can find Lake Tyrrell on Google Maps at https://goo.gl/maps/iMcidPLDg6r

Thanks to my awesome partner and adventure buddy Melina Chan who featured in and took a few of the photos above.

Last but not least ... some camping options nearby...

1. Travellers Rest Caravan Park

This campground is right at the base of Lake Tyrell Wildlife Reserve. It's an honesty system and $10 per person gets you some basic toilets and hot showers. Not much in terms of scenery but perfectly fine for an overnight stay.

Calder Hwy, Sea Lake, Victoria

2. Green Lake

Green Lake is another honesty system campground but a little more further south than Travellers Rest. It is on its own lake though so much better for scenery. If you can get up early enough there are some awesome opportunities for taking photos.