Lake Hart

Visited: winter and spring

Recommendation: This wonderful free rest area is worth visiting for the incredible salt lake alone. If you have time, wander the areas around the campsite and lots of Outback animals may be found.

I saw Lake Hart had a rest stop and I always like to stay overnight where there is either trees or water (preferably both) and a big lake sounded great. I thought no more about it until I arrived. I had no idea it was a salt lake. The rest area was a way up from the water's edge and I could see the salt flat. It was stunning. I went straight down and in the warm sunshine it was lovely to walk in the shallow water on the flats. I took some photos and for once I didn't mind that there weren't any birds around and then headed back up the hill. 

The history of the lake is closely tied to the exploration and development of this remote and arid region. In the 1860s the first European exploration of the Nullarbor Plain was undertaken by John McDouall Stuart, who passed by Lake Hart during his journey. By the late 19th Century pastoralists began to establish properties in the region, including areas near Lake Hart.

It wasn't untilt the 1950s and 1960s that the lake's salt deposits were explored for potential commercial use and in the 70s, a saltworks was established at Lake Hart to extract salt from the lakebed.