Lochiel Pink Lake - SA

Lake Bumbunga is one of the most accessible pink salt lakes in Australia at less than 2 hours drive from Adelaide. Walking on a salt lake is a surreal must-do experience in Australia. It’s surrounded by farmland and stretches out for 5km along the highway. Once you’re there you can walk anywhere on the lake.

The lake was mined for salt starting from 1881. The local town of Lochiel is a historic reminder of the salt industry. I found lots of evidence of mining in the form of train tracks and small wooden structures. The name Bumbunga dervies from Parnpangka, which is a local Indigenous Australian term for ‘Rain water lake’.

It’s best to visit the lake during summer when the water salinity is high. That means, when the lake has extra salty water. Salt-environment algae and pink bacteria known as halobacteria cause the pink appearance. If the lake is too dry however, the pink doesn’t show much because the bacteria can’t survive.