Day 4 Monday 6/5/2024 St Arnaud to Lake Tyrrell, sapphire sky 22

The recommended tyre service garage can’t look at the Iveco at present but the RACV mechanic from Charlton drives down and gives the old girl the thumbs up. The Iveco I mean, not VeeWee.

We head off to Sea Lake through sheep and wheat properties and the eucalypts gradually changing to Mallee gums. They’re the short ones with multiple trunks and huge root systems.

We pull up at Sea Lake for lunch and instantly notice that ‘salt lake’ tourism and social media has been good for the town. The Sky Mirror Gallery & Cafe has a delightful outdoor area, well shaded with plantings and tinkling water. The inside seating area of the cafe is adorned with photographs and paintings of Lake Tyrrell in its many guises.

Lake Tyrrell is an immense salt lake, which when it has just a little water in it, reflects a starry sky. When there is no water in the lake acres of pale pink salt glistens like an ice-skating rink.

Five kms north of the town we turn onto 2kms of sealed road that ends at the lookout structure. We chat with the cleaning lady and being a caravanner she provides us with a wealth of information and suggests that we camp at the lake shore. There’s a short, corrugated dirt road down to the lake and a circular boardwalk.

We park ourselves then walk to the lake’s edge. We’re gob smacked to say the least as it is Victoria’s largest salt lake. That’s 20,860 hectares (51,500 acres) of delicately tinted pink salt.

We tip toe about looking at the salt and its effect on the rusted ruins from past mining operation. To walk on the salt is eerie as it appears to be slippery like ice but of course, it isn’t. And yet it is smooth to the touch. This is like a hands-on chemistry class. Cars come and go all afternoon and Woody walks the trail back to the lookout.

I can’t help but laugh at us at Happy Hour, sitting on our chairs on the road between our van and VeeWee’s Winnebago drinks in hand, admiring a smelly salt swamp backwash. We wouldn’t be dead for quids.

Another wave of visitors arrive. This time to view the sunset of reds, golds, and pinks and blues. Dinner is a cheat’s prawn fried rice using a pack of instant rice. When it gets dark we rug up and head back over to the sky lounge seating area to lie back and watch the stars. I reckon we’ll be all on our own out here tonight.

This will certainly go down as one of our more unusual ones.

Accom: $0, Towing Kms: 150kms