Lake Hillier

Lake Hillier sits on Middle Island in the Recherche Archipelago, about six hundred metres long and separated from the Southern Ocean by a narrow strip of dune and paperbark. Its colour is a flat, opaque pink that stays pink in a glass, unlike some other pink lakes whose colour depends on the light, and research has attributed it to a community of salt-loving microorganisms including Dunaliella salina and Salinibacter along with halophilic bacteria. Landing on the island is not permitted, so the lake is seen from scenic flights out of Esperance, which pass over the archipelago and the coast. Nearby Pink Lake at Esperance, once similar, has lost its colour and is no longer pink.

History

Matthew Flinders's expedition visited the lake on 15 January 1802, and his journal, describing a small lake of a rose colour so saturated with salt that a ship could be loaded with it, is the first written record; he came back in May 1803 for geese, seal oil and salt, and is said to have named it after William Hillier, a crew member of the Investigator who died of dysentery on 20 May 1803. In 1889 Edward Andrews and his two sons moved onto the island to produce salt, leaving after about a year (Wikipedia, Lake Hillier).

Highlights

• The pink water - a flat opaque pink lake beside a dark blue ocean.
• The narrow dune - the strip of sand and trees dividing lake from sea.
• The archipelago - the islands and turquoise water passed on the flight.
• The contrast - pink, white sand and deep ocean blue in a single frame.

When to go

October to April for the calmest flying conditions; flights operate year-round but are cancelled in wind. Midday overhead sun gives the strongest colour from the air. The pink is consistent through the year.

Before you go

There is no way to visit the lake itself; landing on Middle Island is prohibited and the only access is a scenic flight, which is expensive and weather-dependent. Esperance's own Pink Lake is no longer pink, which disappoints visitors who go there expecting it.

Nearby

Esperance is the flight departure point; Cape Le Grand lies west along the coast.

Key facts