Travelsnapz

Previous slide
Next slide

Rotate to landscape to view slideshow

Lake Tyrrell - the sky mirror

Lake Tyrrell is near the little town of Sea Lake in Northern Victoria. When the lake is full of water, it is famous for its spectacular sky reflections – hence the locals call it a “sky mirror”

When we visited the lake in late April after a dry summer it was just a salt crust covering the lake area. But we weren’t disappointed with what we saw.  

Lake Tyrrell, Victoria's largest salt lake
A recent addition to the Lake Lyrrell infastructure is the walkway over the salt crust. I'm guessing but I am wondering if the designer of the walkway intended it to look like a hand held mirror from above. If that's right, that's very clever!
Lake Tyrrell is the biggest salt lake in Victoria and supports a commercial salt harvesting industry. It brings a lot of tourists to the area as well, which has seen the addition of some infastructure including viewing points, a pedestrian walkway over the salt crust, and a sky lounge where you can lay back and watch the night sky.

Visiting Lake Tyrrell

Maybe the best time to visit the lake is in the July/November period when there is a chance of water in the lake. The still water produces spectacular reflections. Anytime of the year at sunrise and sunset is also a popular viewing time. There is a tour that is run on a regular basis, or you can just visit the official viewing area that is sign posted off the highway north of Sea Lake.
Lake Tyrell information centre
The Lake Tyrell information centre provides interesting facts about the lake as well as the indigenous history, and there are toilets and a viewing platform.

The lake itself is quite ancient and may have been formed by drifting sand blocking the passage of Tyrrell Creek. Over time it became a giant salt basin due to the flow of subterranean saline water and the run-off from Tyrrell Creek.

There is also evidence of  the indigenous occupation of the area over the last 45,000 years. 

Lake Tyrell
Lake Tyrrell is dry most of the year but provides spectacular reflections when there is water in the lake.. Locals suggest that the best months are September through November. Ideally you want a day with no wind and some interesting clouds in the sky.

The Royal Hotel at Sea Lake serves excellent meals and we found a good breakfast at the Bottom Cafe in the main street. 

Share this destination
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted

More from Australia

The Stick Shed

The Stick Shed

The Stick Shed in Murtoa is a second World War grain storage area so unique that it has pride of place on the Australian Heritage Register. Who would have thought there would be a forest of mountain ash trees in the Wimmera.

Read More »
Cradle Mountain National Park, Tasmania

Cradle Mountain – The Ascent

Email from Ben: “I plan to climb Cradle Mountain when we visit the area in a few weeks – better start training”. So I reduced my alcohol consumption to one glass of wine a night (well, most nights) and did a bit of walking (on the flat) at weekends, so when we started our trek on a fine February day I was completely unprepared for what lay ahead.

Read More »
Wilpena Pound

Wilpena Pound

Wilpena Pound, also known by its indigenous Adnyamathanha name of Ikara, meaning “meeting place”, is a natural amphitheatre of mountains located 429 kilometres north of Adelaide, South

Read More »
See more Australia

Other destinations you may like:

Tunis, Tunisia

Tunis, Tunisia

We took the early morning ferry from Trapani (Sicily) to sail to Tunis. We got to the dock at around 7am. The ferry had already arrived, coming down from Sardinia, and the semi-trailers were rolling off.

Read More »
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x