The next morning we packed up the car and pointed ourselves back towards Melbourne. This time we cut across the dry middle rather than following the coast, which meant a long straight run through scrubby bush, big skies and the occasional road train thundering past. The girls took turns spotting “the biggest truck yet” while we worked through snacks and playlists and watched the landscape slowly flatten out.
After about five hours on the road we reached our stop for the night: Lake Tyrrell, Victoria’s largest salt lake and one of those places that looks almost unreal when you first see it.
First impressions: giant letters and a big empty horizon
You know you have arrived when the huge rusted TYRRELL letters appear on the edge of the lake. We tumbled out of the car, stretched stiff legs and immediately turned it into a mini photo shoot. The girls clambered over the letters, Ali did the classic arms-wide “look at this place” pose, and behind them the salt lake stretched off into the distance.
A short walk took us past the “Welcome to Lake Tyrrell” sign, which explains the cultural significance of the area and why people travel from all over the world to visit. Even before you step onto the salt, it feels different to anywhere else we have been in Australia so far: wide, quiet and strangely calm.
Walking out onto the salt
From the viewing shelter a long metal boardwalk runs out towards the lake. The girls raced ahead, shadows bouncing on the mesh, while we followed at a more sensible adult pace. At the end, the world suddenly opens up.
In front of us was a huge white sheet of salt, broken up by shallow pools that reflected the sky. It looked like ice but crunched under our shoes. The clouds were doing their best dramatic streaks across the blue, and in the wet patches they mirrored back perfectly. For a moment it felt as if Ali and the girls were walking across a giant mirror.
There was nothing complicated to do here. No playground, no café, no long list of “must-see” spots. Just wind, light, salt and space. After hours in the car it was exactly what we needed.
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