Lonely Planet

PHOTOGRAPHS: THE ASAHI SHIMBUN VIA GETTY IMAGES, AUSCAPE/GETTYOctober 2017 Lonely Planet Traveller 89SECRET MARVELSLAKE HILLIERLook at any map andchances are that all thebodies of water have beencoloured blue. But if youwere to draw MiddleIsland, part of Australia’slittle-known RechercheArchipelago, you’d need apink crayon (preferably ofa bubble-gum hue) todepict its most strikinglandmark: Lake Hillier.Scientists aren’t entirelysure how the lake got sopink. After all, it stands incontrast to the deep bluewaves of the SouthernOcean just metres away.Unlike most colouredlakes, Hillier’s hueis neither areflection ofthe lakebednor influencedby the dye ofseasonal bacteria.As such, it retains itsunique pink colour evenwhen placed in a bottle.O Middle Island is part of a wilderness area that’soff-limits to tourists, but you can still view LakeHillier on a two-hour helicopter tour fromEsperance, Western Australia.