Whether they’ve got water in them or are just a salty plain, lakes are places not just for our wildlife to live but for all of us to enjoy.
They’ve been used for land and water speed records and they’ve been used for world renown sculptures and even just for jumping in front of a setting sun.
Whether it’s for the peace and quiet, a sweaty run or watching wildlife from a bird hide or a kayak, our lakes are found throughout Western Australia.
Some are well known and easy to track down, like Champion Lakes, Lake Monger, Lake Joondalup, Herdsman Lake and Black Diamond Lake. They are iconic attractions that gather people as much as they do birds, but there are many others you should experience and you might be surprised at how close to home a lake worth exploring can be.
• Lake Dumbleyung: famous for Donald Campbell’s 1964 world water speed record in the hydroplane Bluebird. To make sure he didn’t suck ducks into his engines they sent boats ahead with men firing shotguns to scare the ducks away. This is the biggest natural lake in Western Australia and Campbell needed every inch for the world speed record attempt. It’s a wonderful lake that’s well worth a road trip or a detour on the way to somewhere else. You’ll find it if you follow the ducks or just head between Wagin and Lake Grace, 267km south east of Perth.
• Lake Magic: if you’re out for a surf at Wave Rock near Hyden, head a km away and discover WA’s own circular version of the Dead Sea. It’s got a little beach and it’s hard to believe you’re in the heart of the Wheatbelt. Wave Rock is 336km from Perth and it makes a spectacular day trip, albeit a long one with the driver needing regular breaks.
• Lake Leschenaultia: just under an hour away from Perth towards Chidlow in the east. You can hire canoes for much of the year and there’s a good walking trail and barbecue facilities. It’s very popular with family groups and it’s a great short roadtrip on a hot day with the reward of some great swimming, just splashing about or sitting in the cool shade of the lake’s banks.
• Lake Ballard: home of the largest outdoor art gallery on Earth and also an art loving population of flies who will keep you company as you walk from statue to statue, spread across about 10 square kms. It started out as a quirky and temporary display but is now regarded as one of our most inspiring attractions. It’s 180 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie, just past Menzies. It makes a great destination for a weekender in the Goldfields but check the road conditions before you go.
• The Spectacles: the Spectacles Wetlands in Kwinana is named for its view from the air of two circular lakes joined by a narrow drain, making it look like a pair of spectacles. The Spectacles is 360ha and part of the wider Beeliar Regional Park. It has great interpretative signage along a 5km heritage walk trail that explains the cultural importance of the area to Noongar Elder Joe Walley. As well as the Aboriginal Heritage Walk Trail, there’s a boardwalk over the wetlands which feature a paperbark forest and lead you to the Biara Lookout which is the perfect location to sit quietly and watch the resident birdlife.
• Lake Richmond: this is a bit of a secret in the metropolitan area. Lake Clifton south of Mandurah is well known for its thrombolites but down at Rockingham there is a lake that is a world heritage site, one of our deepest and most mysterious lakes. It is also home to an ancient population of thrombolites which can be viewed from an elevated walkway.
• Lake Gwelup: this is one of the best lakes in Perth to view the rainbow bee-eater which flies down from Papua New Guinea and Indonesia to make its nest in the surrounding trees. If this tree is rocking, don’t bother knocking. There’s also a 3.9km loop of trails to enjoy walking or cycling around.
• Lake Jackadder: this is in Woodlands just behind the Innaloo Cinemas and one of my favourite lakes because it’s got a regular turnout each weekend of remote-control sailors who are members of the Perth Radio Sailing Club. They squint and have lopsided Greek fisherman’s hats and toggle their controls to race each other around marker buoys in the lake.
• Mary Carroll Park: a bit like the Spectacles in Kwinana, this two-lake system is in the heart of the Gosnells area and covers more than 20ha. It’s a Bush Forever site. You can join a local volunteer group who do community awareness, weed control and eco walk tours. Contact the City of Gosnells if you’re interested in contacting the Friends of Mary Carroll Wetlands.
• Goegrup Lake and Yalbanberup Pool: this is part of the Serpentine River and accessible from Mandjoogoordap Drive. It’s near where the Kwinana Freeway becomes the Forrest Highway. Great for kayakers and there’s lots of little tributary canals and streams that branch off from each of these lakes.
• Smiths Lake: formerly known as Three Island Lake and even earlier as Danjanberup. It’s one of Perth’s smallest lakes and is the remnant of a much bigger lake that became the adjacent Charles Veryard Reserve. It takes just a few minutes to walk around it and you can enjoy a barbecue or picnic thanks to the City of Vincent facilities on the edge of the lake.
There is probably also a lake close to where you live that you’ve never explored.
Whether it’s a lake far away in our Goldfields or a lake in our suburbs, they are more than a blue shape on your street map, they are opportunities to explore and have adventures or just sit quietly and watch the world go by.
